Pyongyang wants to try to relaunch a spy satellite in orbit. This decision is contrary to UN Security Council resolutions.
North Korea announced on Thursday that its second attempt in three months to put a spy satellite into orbit had failed, and promised to try again in October.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns” North Korea’s attempt to launch a satellite using ballistic missile technology, a spokeswoman said in a statement.
“Any launch by North Korea using ballistic missile technology is contrary to UN Security Council resolutions,” said Florencia Soto Nino.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his call on North Korea to cease such acts and resume dialogue without preconditions, to achieve lasting peace and the total denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” she added.
North Korea announced on Thursday that its second attempt in three months to put a spy satellite into orbit had failed, and promised to try again in October.
The American presidency quickly denounced this attempted launch, accusing it of “aggravating tensions”.
Nuclear and ballistic capabilities
G7 nations on Thursday condemned North Korea’s attempt to launch a satellite using ballistic missile technology, calling it “a flagrant violation” of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, according to a statement.
“Despite repeated calls from the international community”, North Korea is accused of continuing its “escalation” with “a record number of ballistic missile launches”. This testifies, the press release adds, to “its determination to advance and diversify its illegal nuclear and ballistic capabilities”.
The press release, published in Brussels, the capital of the EU, is co-signed by the foreign ministers of the G7 (United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and United Kingdom), with which the leader joins of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
Comply with the rules
“We once again reiterate our demand that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, and all other weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner.”
They also demand that Pyongyang “fully comply with all obligations arising from relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions”.
“North Korea cannot and will never have nuclear-weapon state status within the meaning of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,” they continue.
This article is originally published on tdg.ch
