Top diplomats of G7 condemn N. Korea's ICBM test, call for strong response by UNSC

North Korea fires a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), July 12, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap

Foreign ministers of the Group of 7 (G7) countries condemned North Korea's recent long-range missile test on Thursday, calling it a flagrant violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

They also called for a "strong and unified response" by the U.N. Security Council (UNSC), hours before the 15-member council was set to hold an emergency meeting in New York to discuss the North's latest missile provocation.

"We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, condemn in the strongest terms North Korea's brazen launch of another Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) conducted on July 12, 2023, following the launch using ballistic missile technology conducted on May 31, 2023 along with the launches of two ballistic missiles on June 15, 2023," they said in a joint statement, released by the U.S. Department of State.

North Korea fired a Hwasong-18 ICBM on Wednesday (Korea time). Pyongyang launched a space launch vehicle in May, which, according to experts, uses the same kind of technology used in ballistic missiles that North Korea is prohibited from developing or using under UNSC resolutions.

US calls for UNSC action against N. Korean ICBM test, but China, Russia veto 2023-07-14 08:37  |  North Korea
"North Korea continues to expand its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and to escalate its destabilizing activities," the G7 foreign ministers said.

They called for a "quick, strong and unified response" by the UNSC.

"The frequency of North Korea's repeated blatant violations of UNSCRs juxtaposed with the UNSC's corresponding inaction because of some members' obstruction is cause for significant alarm," they said.

"We call on all UN Member States to fully and effectively implement all UNSCRs, and urge the UNSC Members to follow through on their commitments," they added.

The UNSC held 10 emergency meetings in 2022 to discuss North Korea's missile provocations, but failed to produce any outcome due to opposition from China and Russia, both veto power-wielding permanent members of the council and friendly neighbors of North Korea.

The Security Council was set to hold a meeting later in the day in New York to discuss the North's latest ICBM test.

"We reiterate our demand that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, and any other weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner and fully comply with all obligations under the relevant UNSCRs," the G7 foreign ministers said.

"North Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon state under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons," they added. (Yonhap)