Earlier Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power urged the council to act to enforce earlier resolutions that prohibit the reclusive Stalinist state from conducting ballistic missile-related activities and impose sanctions.
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When North Korea launched three ballistic missiles this week, it wasn’t just a show of force toward the world leaders gathered in China for a meeting of the G-20. North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of United Nations sanctions imposed after its fourth nuclear test in January.
Washington will work to intensify United Nations sanctions on North Korea in the wake of Pyongyang’s latest missile tests, US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday.
The Security Council, meanwhile, scheduled a closed emergency meeting on the latest launches for Tuesday morning.
Obama said the latest round of ballistic missile launches were “provocations” that flouted global law and would only lead to further isolation.
As for North Korea’s missile launch on Monday, Obama warned that provocations will only deepen its isolation. North Korea frequently launches missiles despite the ban it signed against all ballistic missile activity.
The command did not further specify whether the intermediate-range missiles were Rodong as assessed by South Korea’s military, or the longer-range Musudan missile, which is believed to be capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam.
Obama believes the US and Korea have to be vigilant in sanctions enforcement, aides said.
The tests not only threaten Japan’s national security but the region and beyond, he said, stressing that the missiles were launched without any prior notification and could have hit planes or ships.
The single-stage, Rodong-class, mid-range missiles were fired from Hwangju province, North Korea, and flew about 620 miles before falling into waters off the country’s east coast, within Japan’s zone of defense. “But if I speak for myself, we think that it is necessary for us to consider what additional actions the council can take in unanimity, in unity, in bringing about the change in North Korean behavior”.
Koro Bessho, Japan’s ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters that “the council will be discussing what appropriate measures to take at an appropriate time”.
Park also said the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2270 will help deter the advancement of North Korea’s nuclear and missile capacity.
The Security Council members also condemned the Pyongyang administration, led by Kim Jong-un, for diverting all its resources “to the pursuit of ballistic missiles”, ignoring the requirements and “great unmet needs” of its own citizens. The U.S. has no interest in an “offensive approach” to North Korea, he said.
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Beijing is Pyongyang’s only ally and its major economic backer. But he did not mention any further council action. The fund will be used to heal the psychological scars of the victims and restore their honor under the December 28 deal, Seoul and Tokyo have said.
