In violation of numerous United Nations resolutions, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK, has continued to develop and launch ballistic missiles. Between January 1 and October 12, 2022, Pyongyang launched forty-three ballistic missiles.
DPRK launches of ballistic missiles are “clear violations of multiple Security Council resolutions,” said U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. This includes “A dangerous and destabilizing reported long-range ballistic missile over Japan. Pyongyang clearly feels emboldened,” she said.
“Multiple Member States and the International Atomic Energy Agency have reported the DPRK is reconstituting its nuclear testing site in preparation for a seventh nuclear test. Kim Jong Un has called for – in his words – the ‘highest rapidity’ in advancing the DPRK’s WMD program.”
Unfortunately, Kim Jong Un “Appears to be getting his way,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield.
“Since the beginning of this year, 13 Council members have joined us in condemning these unlawful actions and in voting to impose real costs to the DPRK – real costs that would impede its WMD and ballistic missile pursuits.”
However, two Council members, Russia, and China, “have gone out of their way to justify the DPRK’s repeated provocations and block every attempt to update the sanctions regime,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. Nonetheless, “It is still within our power to come together – just as we did in recent years – when we unanimously responded to the DPRK’s provocation,” she said, emphasizing the importance of remaining unified.
“We can and must return to a time when we spoke with a unified voice against the DPRK’s malign behavior and when we stood together in support of the global nonproliferation regime. This means fully implementing existing DPRK resolutions. It means undertaking sanctions maintenance efforts. And it means pursuing a resolution to address DPRK sanctions evasion activities going forward.”
“The truth is the DPRK is testing capabilities that can threaten every single UN Member State. That threatens all our individual and collective security, full stop. And by serving on this Council, we have all taken on the weighty responsibility of protecting and defending international peace and security,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield.
“So, let’s do our jobs. Let us honor that commitment.”
Need to Fully Implement UN Resolutions on North Korea
In violation of numerous United Nations resolutions, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has continued to develop and launch ballistic missiles.
