US Requests UN Security Council Meeting on North Korea Missile Launch... Likely to be Held on the 20th

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Photo by AFP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] On the 18th (local time), the United States requested a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting regarding North Korea's recent missile launches, AFP reported citing diplomatic sources.

AFP quoted anonymous sources saying that, following this request, a closed UNSC meeting is scheduled to be held on the 20th. The sources also stated that the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Mexico, and Albania joined the U.S. in requesting the UNSC meeting.

This UNSC meeting request comes in response to North Korea's successive ballistic missile launches since early this year, including the launch on the 17th of a short-range ballistic missile presumed to be the North Korean version of the ATACMS (KN-24).

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the morning of the 17th, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles from the Sunan Airfield area in Pyongyang towards the northeast over the East Sea. This marks North Korea's fourth missile launch since the beginning of the year. On the 14th, two KN-23 missiles were launched from a train on the railway in the Uiju area of North Pyongan Province, and earlier on the 5th and 11th, ballistic missiles claimed to be 'hypersonic missiles' were launched in the Jagang Province area.

The United States demanded a UNSC meeting after North Korea's second missile launch this year and, just before a closed meeting on the 10th, issued a joint statement with Albania, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, and Japan condemning North Korea's missile launches and urging restraint from further provocations.

Additionally, the U.S. is pushing to add individuals and entities recently sanctioned by the Treasury Department to the UNSC sanctions list.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, said in an interview with The Washington Post (WP), "We will continue to increase pressure on North Korea."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.