The legal and political consensus underpinning United Nations resolutions on North Korea is that DPRK denuclearisation can be understood as a just cause. But were the means used by the United Nations in sanctioning North Korea also just? This question takes on particular urgency given the ongoing humanitarian challenges facing the country. Drawing on just war theory, Prof. Smith considers this question against the criteria of effectiveness, necessity and proportionality and reaches the conclusion that these standards were not met, imposing undue harm on North Korean citizens. The analysis raises questions about the ethics of sanctions, both generally and in the North Korean case, and how and if they should be designed going forward.

Professor Hazel Smith is Professorial Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and Professor Emerita in International Security at Cranfield University and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She received her PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and lived and worked for United Nations humanitarian organizations in North Korea for two years (where she earned a still-valid drivers license). Her publications include the award-winning North Korea: Markets and Military Rule (2015); Reconstituting Korean Security, (2007); and Hungry for Peace: International Security, Humanitarian Assistance and Social Change in North Korea (2005) as well as numerous articles on security, development and health issues in the country. Professor Smith has held fellowships at prestigious institutions in the US and Asia as well as the UK and is regularly called on