"Unrealistically high expectations" surround the growing body of international sanctions on North Korea, a former member of the United Nation's Panel of Experts (UN PoE) tasked with working on sanctions monitoring and implementation told NK News.

Japanese representative Katsuhisa Furukawa, who worked at the PoE in New York City until April 2016, said history showed that sanctions can only be effective if accompanied by the use of force or diplomacy.