Statement by H.E. Ambassador ISHIKANE Kimihiro, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations, at the United Nations Security Council Meeting on “Non-Proliferation/DPRK”

Thank you, Madame President. I also thank Mr. Khaled Khiari for his briefing.  
 
Madame President, 
 
I must begin by expressing my greatest regret that once again North Korea launched an ICBM followed by two ballistic missiles yesterday. The ICBM impacted in the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), just 200 km from Hokkaido, as they did on 18 November and 24 March last year. As has been reported in some media, ordinary Japanese citizens could visibly see the ballistic missile falling from the sky. I assume we can all imagine how terrifying it must have been to see a missile flying toward you. It also endangered vessels in our EEZ and exposed aircraft in the surrounding area to great risk. These are totally unacceptable and violate multiple UNSCRs. Japan strongly condemns these dangerous and outrageous acts.
 
Madame President, dear colleagues,
 
All of us are aware, unfortunately, that North Korea publicly articulated their intention to continue their unlawful WMD development, including mass-production of tactical nuclear weapons and an exponential increase of their nuclear arsenal. ICBMs are meant to deliver them. All of these are violations of the resolutions of this Council. These are the core problems we are supposed to deliver on.
 
Madame President, dear colleagues,
 
Let me make 3 important points.

First, this Council has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. No one can disagree that firing an ICBM into the EEZ of other State is a matter of peace and security. It is not a matter of self-defense, as claimed by Pyongyang, but an act of intimidation and threatening by force.

Second, this Council should be responsible for observing its own established rule, the Security Council resolutions. Silence should not be the answer for violations of resolutions. The Security Council should fulfill its own obligations, and not undermine its credibility.

Third and lastly, North Korea says that the Council should stop discussing this issue. They have clearly stated that it has “never recognized such “resolutions” of the UN” and “will not accept them in the future, too”. Some also argue that the discussion in the Security Council provokes North Korea and hence we should remain silent.

This is wrong. If we remain silent for fear of further provocations, that will only encourage rule breakers to write the playbook as they like. We need to think about what we can and should do. Is it not the Charter mandated task of this august body?  We are meeting here because it is our duty to deal with the clear threat to international peace and security.
 
Madame President,
 
Let us make it crystal clear. The responsible Council members should not reward this unlawful and unjustifiable attempts to force the Council to stop doing its job. Through discussions we had recently, a growing number of Council members share concerns on what is happening and wish to take proactive actions. It is time the Council be united and firmly stand against the challenge to its credibility. In this regard, Japan strongly supports a PRST proposed by the United States as a step forward while standing ready to work with colleagues to adopt more robust actions.
 
Madame President,
 
In concluding, Japan once again urges North Korea to immediately and fully comply with all relevant resolutions and to engage in diplomacy toward denuclearization and accept the repeated offers of dialogue by countries concerned. 

Let us, the Council members, continue to fulfill our responsibility.
 
Thank you.