Despite of several UNSC sanctions, North Korea is able to sustain its nuclear and missile endeavors. Critically analyze the efficacy of economic sanctions towards nuclear disarmament.

Sanctions from international community failed to act as a deterrent for North Korea. North Korea has continuously demonstrated the disregard for United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
One major problem behind the failure of sanctions is the fact that North Korean political leadership is unaccountable to its citizens, therefore the inordinate proportion of national resources are diverted towards the development of the weapon of mass destruction. Also despite sanctions, North Korea can utilize its diplomatic and business networks to smuggle banned weapons & technology.
UNSC resolution 2371 prohibited UN member states from importing coal, iron, lead and seafood from the North. For N Korea this was supposed to loss of $1 billion worth of revenue annually. UNSC sanctions resolutions from 2006 to 2013 adopted an approach which targeted Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs, however, ignored the reality that regime was able to divert revenue from the civilian economy. Also, these sanctions, when compared with sanctions on Iran, seem relatively lenient. For example, because of sanctions, Iran lost approximately $53 billion yearly oil revenue, while in case of North Korea the projected annual loss was the US $1 billion.
Through UNSC resolutions there should be restrictions on critical oil supplies and along with that restrictions can be put on North Korea’s other foreign revenue sources like textile exports to bring North on the negotiable table. Along with that international community require cooperation from China to persuade North Korea to suspend Nuclear programs.
A collective effort from the international community is required to engage North Korea in diplomatic negotiations.

Topics: GS-II: Developed Versus Developing Countries Indias Interests