(Adnkronos) – The majority of the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council urged North Korea to abandon its ballistic missile program and condemned the launch of an intercontinental missile last month. “This launch, in addition to the more than 100 ballistic missile launches carried out from 2022 to date, constitutes a clear violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, jeopardizes international peace and security, and threatens to weaken the global non-proliferation regime,” the countries said in a joint statement read by US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood.
In addition to the United States, the statement was signed by France, Japan, Ecuador, Malta, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland and Great Britain. They were joined by Denmark, Greece and Panama, which will become non-permanent members of the council in January. According to the statement, in response to the ballistic missile launch on October 30, the United States asked the Council to adopt a text declaring that North Korea was violating UN resolutions. This should have been approved by all 15 members. “However, two members of the Council refused to join the united condemnation,” the statement read. The text does not name the two countries, but the United States regularly accuses Russia and China of protecting North Korea at the United Nations.
“We call on North Korea to resume negotiations, to comply with its obligations under numerous UN Security Council resolutions and to abandon its programs on weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles,” the statement said. The joint statement made no mention of the volley of short-range ballistic missiles North Korea reportedly launched today, according to the South Korean military.
