Joint Statement on the Recent Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

(The following is a joint statement delivered by Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis on behalf of Albania, Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.)

Albania, Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States condemn in the strongest possible terms the DPRK’s July 12 (local time) launch of its second solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) this year. The DPRK has now launched 20 ballistic missiles in 2023, including four ICBMs, all blatant violations of multiple Security Council resolutions.

The Council cannot continue to be silent in the face of these provocations, and we must send a clear and collective signal to the DPRK—and all proliferators—that this behavior is unlawful, destabilizing, and will not be normalized.

We call on all Member States to fully and faithfully implement all relevant Security Council resolutions. This includes preventing the DPRK from evading sanctions to advance its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs and associated global procurement network.

We call on all Member States to confront illicit DPRK revenue generation and malicious cyber activities that finance the DPRK government’s unlawful and destabilizing actions.

We urge the DPRK to abandon its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs, and instead to use its resources to improve the lives of the people in the DPRK.

We remain committed to diplomacy, as this is the only path toward a sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula. We stand ready to engage in diplomacy without preconditions and urge the DPRK to return to dialogue.

The Security Council must take seriously its responsibility to counter these activities, which threaten international peace and security and undermine the global nonproliferation regime.

It is time to unite and restore the Council’s voice on this threat and to take action in addressing the DPRK threat.