The US is delaying a planned aviation safety audit in North Korea by the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) because it believes the effort might violate UN sanctions on the country.
Right now, airlines avoid flying over or near North Korea in order to avoid the threat of unannounced missile tests. Last year, ICAO discussed the possibility of carrying out an aviation safety with North Korean officials, the aim of which was to get the North Korean regime to stop carrying out surprise missile tests. In addition to the audit, a joint military and civilian workshop was supposed to be organized in North Korea. An anonymous source told Reuters that the US is concerned the workshop would violate sanctions on North Korea because it “involves technology that could possibly be diverted for military purposes, unlike humanitarian aid that would be exempted from sanctions more easily.” Supposedly the US did not have a problem with the effort until after the February US-North Korea nuclear summit failed.
