Recent North Korean Intercontinental Ballistic Missile launches: UK Statement at the UN Security Council
Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council briefing on North Korea
As we know, on Saturday, the DPRK launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile without warning. This is the third ballistic missile test this year and the ninth test of an ICBM since 2022. It reached an altitude of just under six thousand kilometres, landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone. The DPRK quickly followed this test with two additional short range ballistic missiles today.
We condemn in the strongest terms this serious breach of Security Council resolutions, which clearly threaten international peace and security. We continue to call upon DPRK to cease its illegal activity and to engage meaningfully with the offers of dialogue that the United States and the Republic of Korea have repeatedly made.
We believe the Council has an important role to play in addressing the international community’s very serious concerns about the DPRK’s nuclear weapons, and supporting peaceful dialogue. This is despite the disagreements within the Council that have left us unable to respond to the worsening situation in the DPRK in recent years. It is this Council’s responsibility to act when the resolutions passed by this Council are ignored.
We therefore welcome the US proposal for a Presidential Statement on this issue and look forward to working with other Council members on this text.
President, we know that while new missiles are displayed on the streets of Pyongyang, the people of the DPRK continue to face a serious humanitarian crisis. The investment in each of these missiles could feed many thousands of people. Despite this, there is international aid available. We urge the Government of the DPRK to provide access for UN staff, to allow aid to flow freely into the country, and to invest in food and medicine for its people, rather than its illegal weapons programme.
Thank you.