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| Nikki Haley, US Permanent Representative to the UN |
The
members of the Security Council held an urgent meeting to address the
serious situation arising from an escalatory launch of an
intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea confirmed it conducted on 3 July 2017.
The
members of the Security Council strongly condemned this launch, which
is a clear violation and in unacceptable defiance of Security Council
resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013), 2270
(2016), 2321 (2016), and 2356 (2017), and therefore a clear threat to
international peace and security continues to exist. The members of
the Security Council underscored that this launch, as well as any
other DPRK launch that uses ballistic missile technology, even if
characterized as a satellite launch or space launch vehicle,
contributes to the DPRK’s development of nuclear weapon delivery
systems.
The
members of the Security Council also recalled that they have
previously expressed their determination to take “further
significant measures” in the event of a further DPRK nuclear test
or launch, and in line with this commitment and the gravity of this
violation, the members of the Security Council will begin to work
immediately on such measures in a new Security Council resolution.
The
members of the Security Council emphasized the vital importance of
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea immediately showing
sincere commitment to denuclearization through concrete action and
stressed the importance of working to reduce tensions in the Korean
Peninsula and beyond. To that end, the Security Council
demanded the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea conduct no
further nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The members of the
Security Council reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and
stability on the Korean Peninsula and in North-East Asia at large,
expressed their commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic and political
solution to the situation, and welcomed efforts by Council members,
as well as other States, to facilitate a peaceful and comprehensive
solution through dialogue.
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