US, South Korea talk 'alternatives' as mandate of UN North Korea panel nears end

ANKARA 

South Korea's foreign minister on Monday discussed "alternatives" with the top US envoy to the UN after Russia vetoed the renewal of an expert panel monitoring sanctions on North Korea, local media reported.  

Cho Tae-yul held talks with Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who arrived in Seoul Sunday, on measures to ensure continued reporting about North Korea's "weapons proliferation and sanctions evasion activities," Seoul-based Yonhap News reported. 

Thomas-Greenfield is currently on a four-day visit to South Korea and is expected to meet with other senior officials, including Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, to discuss cooperation in the UN Security Council.

"It was very productive and I look forward to continuing those discussions over the course of the next two days," she told reporters as she left the Foreign Ministry building.

Her visit, which also marks the first trip to South Korea by a US ambassador to the UN since 2016, came after Russia last month vetoed the UN's annual renewal of an expert panel monitoring Pyongyang's compliance with UN sanctions.

The panel's mandate is set to expire at the end of this month.

North Korea has been under strict UN sanctions, which call for, among other things, a ban on the country's exports of coal and other mineral resources to cut off Pyongyang's access to hard currency.

Thomas-Greenfield is also set to travel to the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, meet with North Korean "defectors" and speak with students at Ewha Womans University before heading to Japan on Wednesday.