G7 Foreign Ministers' Statement "Strong Condemnation of North Korea's ICBM Launch... Urging Restraint from Provocations"

Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) and the European Union (EU) High Representative issued a joint statement on the 13th condemning North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch.

The G7 foreign ministers stated in the declaration, "We strongly condemn in the strongest terms," pointing out that "North Korea continues to expand its illegal nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and escalate activities that cause instability."

They added, "Such launches pose a serious threat to international peace and stability," and emphasized that "any further launches by North Korea using ballistic missile technology constitute a clear violation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions prohibiting such actions."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

They also stressed, "We once again urge North Korea to refrain from any other provocative actions."

The foreign ministers raised their voices, saying, "North Korea must abandon its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, other weapons of mass destruction, and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner and comply with all obligations under UNSC resolutions."

They called for a swift response from the UNSC. The foreign ministers pointed out to the Security Council, "We demand a prompt, strong, and unified response," and criticized, "The frequency of North Korea's blatant and repeated violations of Security Council resolutions, coupled with some member states' obstruction preventing the UNSC from taking action, raises serious concerns."

Meanwhile, the UNSC is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on the same day to discuss North Korea's ICBM launch.

North Korea officially announced on the day that the missile launched into the East Sea the previous day was "the new solid-fuel ICBM, Hwasong-18."

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