The international law which confers autonomy on every sovereign state also stipulates the limits of the autonomy. States are expected to balance their rights of sovereignty with their responsibility to the international community in order to protect common interests and values in an increasingly interconnected world. International organisations which exist to guarantee this objective also make use of sanctions to bring any erring state back to conformity. Over the years, scholars and political leaders have expressed some misgivings about the effectiveness of sanctions as a diplomatic way of correcting a belligerent state. This research, which adopted qualitative research approach, to examine the effectiveness of international sanctions imposed on North Korea to dissuade it from continuing with its nuclear weapon programme, found that the barrage of sanctions imposed on North Korea for almost two decades has not achieved the desired objectives due to a combination of factors, ranging from lack of commitment to the implementation of sanctions by the sanctioning powers to inadequate equipment to ensure monitoring and compliance. The research recommended that for sanctions to be an effective diplomatic tool indeed, strategic approaches which will combine sanctions targeting the country’s elite with negotiations should be in place.