Canada & North Korea
Originally Published on October 31, 2020
Canada and North Korea share a history that is unfamiliar to most Canadians. To highlight this relationship, it is best to note the Korean War. During this war, Canada deployed over 26,000 soldiers to the United Nations Command (UNC): a force created to counter North Korean aggression. Still to this day, Canada contributes to the UNC, showcasing their firm commitment to peace and stability. Canada has also been involved in conversations regarding North Korea’s nuclear issue. Accordingly, Canada, during its G7 presidency in 2018, advanced North Korea’s nuclear issue.
More recently, diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 2001. This relationship is maintained through the Embassy of Canada in Seoul and North Korea’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. In North Korea, Sweden serves as Canada’s protecting power.
As North Korea grew more aggressive in 2010, Canada adopted a Controlled Engagement Policy. With this policy, according to Government of Canada’s website, it identifies that official bilateral contact with the North Korean government is limited to:
regional security concerns
the human rights and humanitarian situation in North Korea
inter-Korean relations
consular issues
As Canada is still to this day highly concerned about North Korea’s weapons, Canada actively proposes that North Korea discontinues all weapon-related activities, adhere to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, “comply with its safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, completely, verifiably, and irreversibly abandon its WMD and ballistic missile programs, and continue dialogue toward a negotiated, political solution.”
Beyond diplomacy, Canada takes action to help the lives of North Korean citizens. In the past two decades, North Korea has struggled as a result of their food shortages. Starting from 2005, Canada has allocated $38.9 million to provide support to the international humanitarian response in North Korea. This funding is provided through the UN World Food Programme and UNICEF as Canada does not provide these assistance funding to North Korea’s government directly.
Canada’s Response: Sanctions
Dating back to 2011, Canada has created the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA): a list of sanctions imposed against North Korea, supplementary to those imposed by the UN Security Council. In this list are sanctions that touch on bans relating to trade, provision of financial services to North Korean persons, and more. A sole exception to this is the provision of humanitarian goods, although a certificate of authorization is required to do so. In more recent years, the UN Security Council created more stringent sanctions as a response to the increased frequency of nuclear testing in North Korea.
North Korea has been delinquent, discovering advanced techniques to evade international sanctions. Through illicit activity in cyberspace, North Korea has stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from numerous institutions. UN Security Council regulations were also breached through North Korean importation of banned goods. Canada has responded by contributing to a multinational effort to prevent North Korea from evading sanctions such as these.
In erecting the Global Affairs Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program, Canada plans to support the advancements of: the UN Security Council in their list of sanctions on North Korea, the International Atomic Energy Agency in monitoring denuclearization efforts, and also the investigation efforts of international sanction evasions.
Resources:
Government of Canada FATand DC. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [Internet]. Canada. 2020 [cited 2020Oct31]. Available from: https://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/korea-coree/bilateral_relations_bilaterales/canada-dpr_korea-rpd_coree.aspx?lang=eng
Canada NATOAof. Sanctions on North Korea: How effective will they be? [Internet]. NAOC. 2018 [cited 2020Oct31]. Available from: http://natoassociation.ca/how-will-the-sanctions-placed-on-north-korea-work/
Pabian F, Makowsky P. Multilateralizing Approaches to North Korea: The Canadian Case [Internet]. 38 North. 2017 [cited 2020Oct31]. Available from: https://www.38north.org/2016/11/aberger112816/
Comments