The statement was delivered by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, on behalf of Albania, Australia, Ecuador, France, Ireland, India, Japan, Malta, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Good morning. Thank you for being here.
Albania, Australia, Ecuador, France, Ireland, India, Japan, Malta, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, the United ArabEmirates the United Kingdom, and the United States strongly condemn the DPRK’sintercontinental ballistic missilelaunch of November 17 that landed about 125 miles from Japan’s coastline, as well as the subsequent report in the DPRK’s state-controlled media that it could be used for a preemptive nuclear strike.
This was the DPRK’s eighthintercontinental ballistic missilelaunch this year.
Compared with the total number of intercontinental ballistic missile launches prior to 2022, this represents a serious escalation and poses an unequivocal threat to internationalpeace and security.
The DPRK is acting with impunity in the face of the Security Council’s inaction.
All of us at this podium support the need for the Council to condemnthe DPRK’s actions with a unified voice and to take action to limit the DPRK’s unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballisticmissile advancements. We stress the importance of this issue in the region and beyond.
We invite all Member States to join us in condemning the DPRK’sunlawful ballistic missile launches and call for full implementationof the existing Security Councilresolutions.
We also urge the DPRK to abandon its unlawful weaponsprograms in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner.
We remain committed to diplomacy, and to that end, encourage the DPRK to halt its threatening behavior in violation of multiple Security Council resolutions, and to engage in meaningful dialogue toward denuclearization.