US, 8 other countries urge UNSC to condemn North Korean missile test

People watch a TV at Seoul Railway Station showing images of North Korea's missile launch during a news program, Jan. 31. AP-Yonhap

The United States and eight other countries called on the U.N. Security Council (UNSC), Friday, to condemn North Korea's recent missile tests after the council's closed meeting apparently failed to take any concrete action against Pyongyang.

Friday's meeting marked the second attempt by the U.S. and other like-minded countries in just about two weeks to hold North Korea to account for its recent series of missile launches.

North Korea staged its seventh and last round of missile launches of the year last Sunday (KST).

"The DPRK's January 30 (local time) launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a significant escalation in the DPRK's recent violations of multiple Security Council resolutions and seeks to further destabilize the region. We condemn this unlawful action in the strongest terms," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a joint statement.

DPRK is the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The statement was signed by the U.N. representatives from eight other UNSC member countries ― Albania, Brazil, Britain, France, Ireland, Japan, Norway and the United Arab Emirates.

They noted the IRBM marked the longest-range test conducted by North Korea since late 2017, also adding Pyongyang has so far fired nine ballistic missiles in its seven rounds of missile tests this year.

"The nine ballistic missiles launched in January is the largest number of launches the DPRK has conducted in a single month in the history of its WMD and ballistic missile programs," they said in their joint statement.

"We call on all Council members to speak with one voice in condemning these dangerous and unlawful acts," they added.

North Korea has maintained a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing since November 2017 when it last test fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, following its sixth and last nuclear test in September that year.

The U.N. representatives said the cost of silence will be too high.

"It will embolden the DPRK to further defy the international community; to normalize its violations of Security Council resolutions; to further destabilize the region; and to continue to threaten international peace and security. This is an outcome that we should not accept."

The diplomats also urged North Korea to cease its destabilizing activities and return to dialogue.

"We remain committed to seeking serious and sustained diplomacy. The DPRK must make this same commitment in order to ease regional tensions and to ensure international peace and security," they said.

Prior to Friday's UNSC meeting, China's representative to the U.N. was quoted as saying that the U.S. needs to do more and be more flexible to resume dialogue with North Korea.

Thomas-Greenfield, when asked later to comment on her Chinese counterpart's comments, said the U.S. has already and repeatedly made clear that it will meet with the North Koreans without any preconditions.

She also said a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could be possible "if the conditions are there."

"But we, right now, are in a situation where we've not been able to bring them to the diplomatic table for any discussions whatsoever," she said, according to her office. (Yonhap)

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