Meeting on the heels of the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 31 October, Security Council members today renewed their calls for de-escalation, dialogue and a return to unity within the 15‑nation organ, as speakers sparred over the imposition of sanctions and the real source of security threats in the Korean Peninsula.
Khaled Khiari, UN Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East and Asia and the Pacific, briefing the Council, reported that, on 31 October, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s official news agency announced that it had launched a Hwasong‑19 intercontinental ballistic missile at 7:11 a.m. local time, with the missile flying around 1,000 kilometres and reaching an altitude of over 7,000 kilometres before falling into the sea.
Pyongyang described the launch as a “very crucial test” that “updated the recent records of the strategic missile capability of the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea]”, he said, voicing regret that they did not issue any airspace or maritime safety notifications, posing a serious risk to international civil aviation and maritime traffic. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s latest launch is “of serious concern and represents a grave threat to regional stability”, he said, pointing out that the latest launch sets new records in terms of flight duration and altitude and may be capable of carrying larger warheads or even multiple warheads than its predecessor.
Despite Council meetings in 2023 and 2024, Pyongyang has not heeded calls to refrain from further launches, he stated, citing the Secretary-General’s strong condemnation of the latest launch as a clear violation of relevant Council resolutions, and echoing his call for de-escalation, the full implementation of Council resolutions and the resumption of diplomatic engagement with a view to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
In the ensuing debate, several Council members joined those who requested the meeting – France, Japan, Malta, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and the United States – in condemning Pyongyang’s recent missile launch and once again underscored that such acts violate multiple Council resolutions and undermine international peace and security.
Among them was the delegate of the United States, who recalled that Pyongyang has launched well over 100 ballistic missiles since the beginning of 2022 and stated that the Council has a responsibility to hold that country accountable. Yet two permanent Council members – the Russian Federation and China – have shamelessly protected Pyongyang from any reprisal, or even any condemnation of its actions, he said, adding that this has contributed to the normalization of Pyongyang’s tests and emboldened it to further violate the Council’s sanctions and resolutions. Addressing his Russian and Chinese colleagues, he said: “It is time to stop obstructing and join the rest of us in voicing a united and clear denunciation of the DPRK’s behaviour, to call on all UN Member States to fully and faithfully implement Security Council resolutions and to work together to prevent the DPRK’s procurement activities and revenue flows supporting its WMD [weapons of mass destruction] and nuclear ballistic missile programmes.”
“For months, Russia has been providing North Korea with diplomatic cover” in exchange for its support in continuing its war of aggression against Ukraine, concurred the speaker for France. He warned that “the recent deployment of North Korean troops” to the Russian Federation represents an escalation in Pyongyang’s support for Moscow’s aggression. “Any participation of North Korean soldiers in a war of aggression against a sovereign State constitutes a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” he stressed. “It is Russia’s responsibility to immediately put an end to this illicit military rapprochement and not to deviate from its responsibility as a permanent Council member,” he added.
Joining others in voicing concern about Pyongyang’s continued development of its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile programmes was Japan’s representative, who also like other speakers, recalled the forced termination half a year ago of the Security Council’s 1718 Committee Panel of Experts “due to the regrettable veto by Russia”. Japan, together with like-minded countries, decided to launch a new mechanism – the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team – with a view to fill the significant void that the Panel of Experts has left behind, and to assist the full implementation of relevant Council resolutions, he said.
On that note, Malta’s representative pointed out that “although the Panel is gone, sanctions remain in place” and must continue to be fully implemented by all Member States. “Any transfer of weapons, ammunition and related technology, to and from the DPRK, is illegal and must be condemned,” he added.
Several speakers, including those from Slovenia and Ecuador, also deplored Pyongyang’s disregard for the Council’s resolutions, with the latter stressing: “This Council cannot remain indifferent in the face of these provocative acts.” Noting the Council’s lack of a unified voice in “what must be a rejection of non-compliance with its resolutions”, he urged those members with greater influence on Pyongyang to restore commitment by all parties to avoid exacerbating tensions, a point echoed by Sierra Leone’s representative.
Meanwhile, Mozambique and Guyana’s representatives were among speakers underscoring the need for the parties to engage in dialogue, a view also expressed by Algeria’s delegate, who urged all parties to work towards alleviating tensions and to scaling back military activities in the region. Moreover, humanitarian channels must be promoted and protected, he added.
Also addressing the humanitarian front, Switzerland’s representative stressed that “the people of the DPRK must not be left behind”. Serious and systematic human rights violations and the impunity of the perpetrators must stop. There is a link between the nuclear programme and certain violations of these rights, and the Council should consider how it might further address this link, she added.
In a similar vein, the representative of the United Kingdom, Council President for November, who spoke in her national capacity, called on Pyongyang to abandon its illegal nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes, which is diverting resources away from improving the lives of its most vulnerable people. She called on the Russian Federation, and all Council members to condemn the recent launch and restate their commitment to implementing all relevant Council resolutions, adding: “It is time for us to act, to defend the global non-proliferation architecture, to uphold the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to deliver on the mandate of this Council to address the most pressing threats to peace and security.”
The Republic of Korea, observing that Pyongyang takes “extreme and draconian measures to keep afloat the world’s most bizarre dictatorship” deplored that Pyongyang ignored repeated calls for restraint, amid the intensification last week of that country’s illegal military cooperation with Moscow. There must be large loopholes enabling Pyongyang’s access to the equipment, materials and technology necessary to advance its weapons of mass destruction programmes, he said, calling on all Member States to join international efforts, such as the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, to fill in the gap created by the Russian Federation’s veto on the renewal of the Council’s 1718 Committee Panel of Experts’ mandate.
The delegate of the Russian Federation, however, stressed that the missile tests “causing such upset” cannot be considered separately from the aggressive steps taken by the United States and its satellites in the region. In that context, she cited large-scale military manoeuvres, including joint nuclear planning with the Republic of Korea, which entailed the rehearsal of nuclear strikes on Pyongyang’s territory, as well as the 28 October launch of a large military exercise between the United States, Australia and the Republic of Korea. She went on to deplore the imposition of “illegal sanctions” aimed at the “steady suffocation” of Pyongyang, adding that her country and China’s proposals to update them were repeatedly rejected.
Pyongyang therefore has the right to take steps to ensure its sovereignty, she said, citing her country’s 19 June partnership with the country as playing a stabilizing role in the region, by helping avoid the risk of war, including one involving nuclear means. Addressing Council members’ “repeated speculations” about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea sending service personnel to her country, she said that the figures in Western media were rising by the day. Those publications never expressed the same level of concern over the provision of long-range weaponry to Kyiv, nor at the involvement of thousands of servicemen from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), she added.
For his part, the delegate of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, denouncing today’s “unlawful” meeting, asserted that his country’s latest missile launch is part of its exercise of its legitimate right to self-defence, against the escalating and reckless nuclear war threat of hostile forces. While the launch of Hwasong‑19 did not have “the slightest negative impact” on neighbouring countries’ security, war drills conducted by the United States and the Republic of Korea are “military provocations” and the real threats to peace and security that should instead be addressed by the Council today. Such actions have “opened up wider possibilities for a nuclear war”, he stressed, also denouncing tripartite joint military exercises by the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Underscoring the sense of widening rifts within the 15‑nation organ, the delegate of the United States took the floor a second time, to inform his counterpart from Pyongyang that his country was sanctioned, and that his delegation should read the UN Charter. To China’s delegate, he said that his country had offered to have unconditional talks with Pyongyang; however, the hand they reached out was met by a clenched fist. The trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and his country does not run counter to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, he reiterated, adding that they are defensive exercises that do not pose a threat to Pyongyang.
China’s delegate, also taking the floor again, stated that the core of the situation in the Korean Peninsula is the conflict between the United States and Pyongyang; therefore, if the former wishes to break the deadlock, it should know what to do: Stay away from bloc confrontation and stop [conducting] military exercises at will.
Similarly, the Russian Federation’s delegate, taking the floor again, echoed the assertion that Washington, D.C., and its supporters were the sources of tension in the region, and bringing matters to a “dangerous brink”.
The delegate of the United States, making a further statement, questioned his counterpart from Moscow: “Are there troops from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in Russia?”
“We are not in court here,” replied the Russian Federation’s delegate, adding that she did not intend to answer such a question posed in the spirit of an interrogation.
