US and 10 other countries condemn North Korean missile firing

United States and 10 other countries on Monday condemned the latest launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea and called on the UN Security Council to respond, saying its inaction erodes the credibility of the UN’s most powerful body and undermines global efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield read a statement from the 11 countries following a closed-door Security Council briefing on Saturday’s launch, Pyongyang’s 11th ballistic missile so far this year. year, which was detected by neighboring countries.

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Experts say the launches are an attempt to add new weapons systems to the arsenal of North Korea and pressuring the United States to make concessions amid the deadlock in diplomacy.

The 11 countries—Albania, Australia, Brazil, France, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Great Britain, and the United States— said they remain committed “to pursuing serious and sustained diplomacy” with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the country’s official name.

They pointed out that the United States and other countries have repeatedly offered dialogue without preconditions, but that the DPRK has chosen to increase its ballistic missile launches, in violation of Security Council resolutions and international law, “Instead of embarking on a path of diplomacy and détente.”

The 11 countries asked the 15 members of the Security Council “Speak with one voice to condemn these dangerous and illegal acts.”

Thomas-Greenfield responded to a question about the fact that China and Russia — veto members of the Council — did not support the statement: “We would love to see China and Russia join this group,” he said.

Initially, the Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea after its first nuclear test in 2006, and toughened them after it conducted more atomic tests and launches of its increasingly sophisticated ballistic missile program.

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Source: Elcomercio

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