North Korea fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast on September 5.
Advertisement
The March sanctions, among other things, also require mandatory inspections of cargo leaving and entering North Korea by land, sea or air; a ban on all sales or transfers of small arms and light weapons to Pyongyang; and expulsion of diplomats from the North who engage in “illicit activities”. The countries most affected by Pyongyang’s military tests are China, North Korea’s only major ally, and South Korea.
Japan’s UN Ambassador Koro Bessho said he was encouraged that in the council meeting “there was a much stronger show of unity” and all members “condemned the launches in very strong terms”.
“The Security Council must remain unequivocal and united in its condemnation of these tests”.
“Both sides will work closely together in order to keep sending out warnings against North Korea at various bilateral and multilateral levels”, the foreign ministry added.
South Korea said in July that it will deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or Thaad, missile-defense system from the United States by the end of 2017, a move China opposes.
Chinais shunning a security dialogue in Seoul amid an ongoing row over South Korea’s decision to deploy a powerful USA missile defense system.
US President Barack Obama held talks on Tuesday with his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye on the sidelines of a regional summit in Laos.
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said that there were calls in favor of further measures beyond statements condemning North Korea’s actions.
Japanese envoy Koro Bessho said that “all member states” had condemned the launches during the talks as violating United Nations resolutions, which bar North Korea from any use of ballistic missile technology.
Hahn Choong Hee, South Korea’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said Pyongyang was spending “a considerable amount” of its resources in developing weapons of mass destruction while sacrificing the living conditions of North Koreans.
The North’s KCNA news agency said Kim personally oversaw Monday’s missile firing, which he “appreciated as flawless”.
The country’s ruler watched the test firing and the state-run media reported Kim “stressed the need to continue making miraculous achievements in bolstering up the nuclear force”.
Kim, for his part, hailed the tests.
She said “improving the rights of North Koreans will be a crucial stepping stone towards national reunification, and reunification will provide opportunities for North Koreans to be treated equally”.
“Once the DPRK has the capability to do so, we know what they intend to do with these missile systems, because they have told us”, Power said.
Advertisement
South Korea’s defence ministry said the tests were of Rodong missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometres.
