The United States, South Korea and Japan on Wednesday announced the launch of a new multinational team to monitor the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea after Russia and China thwarted monitoring activities at the United Nations.

The United States, South Korea, Japan and eight other countries formed a new multilateral team to monitor and report on violations of U.N. sanctions on North Korea, the group said in a joint statement.

The move came after Russia and China have blocked monitoring activities at the United Nations. In March, Moscow vetoed the annual renewal of the panel of experts monitoring U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The United States, South Korea, and Japan recently announced the creation of a new team aimed at sanctions monitoring against North Korea. This initiative responds to significant challenges faced in the United Nations (U.

The National Assembly of North Korea has amended its Constitution to designate South Korea as a hostile state, reports Reuters. The North's KCNA news agency reported that on Tuesday, October 15, military forces detonated sections of both road and rail connections with South Korea.

Senior diplomats from South Korea, the United States and Japan strongly denounced North Korea Wednesday for deliberately escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, vowing to step up three-way coordination in response to its provocations.