When the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (“P5+1”) reached a nuclear deal with Iran in November 2013, in which Iran accepted to roll back key aspects of its nuclear program in exchange for partial lifting of the sanctions, even casual observers of international affairs could see the stark contrast between the progress that the international community was able to make vis-à-vis Iran and its failure to achieve even a semblance of pressure with respect to North Korea.



There is little doubt that the comprehensive sanctions regime that exists in the case of Iran, as well as the lack thereof for North Korea, played an important role in determining the difference in the outcomes. The unequal enforcement of sanctions is even more surprising in light of the fact that the international sanctions regimes against the two countries share similar aims and governance structure, which are rooted in the decade-long effort by the international community to design and implement effective sanctions regimes against WMD proliferation.

 

Overview of Sanctions Regimes against Iran and North Korea
How to Quantify and Compare Sanctions Regimes?
Conclusion