Russia's Veto Disrupts UN Efforts to Monitor North Korea Sanctions

Russia vetoed on Thursday a UN Security Council proposal to extend the mandate of a UN panel that monitors the implementation of the sanctions against North Korea, as Moscow and the West continue to grow apart in international affairs.  The proposal of the UN Security Council doesn’t change the existing sanctions against North Korea in response to its nuclear weapons program and tests, but it doesn’t extend the monitoring of these sanctions beyond the end of April, when the current mandate expires, either. In the 15-member…