WNAM REPORT: The top diplomats of the Group of Seven (G7) countries condemned North Korea’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile launch in the “strongest terms” on Tuesday, reiterating their call for the “complete” denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
The officials from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the High Representative of the European Union issued a joint statement, after Pyongyang claimed to have successfully test-fired a Hwasong-19 ICBM on Thursday.
“We deplore that the DPRK once again chose to prioritize its unlawful weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs over the welfare of the people in the DPRK,” they said in the statement, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“The DPRK continues to advance its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and to escalate its destabilizing activities,” they added.
The diplomats renewed their call for Pyongyang to end its nuclear and WMD programs.
“We reiterate our call for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and demand that the DPRK abandon all its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, and any other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner in accordance with all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs),” they said.
“We urge UNSC Members to follow through on their commitments and call on all U.N. member states to fully and effectively implement relevant UNSCRs.”
They stressed that the G7 remains committed to working with all concerned partners toward the goal of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and to upholding the free and open rules-based international order.
In a separate joint statement, South Korea, the U.S, Japan and 10 other countries also condemned the North’s ICBM launch.
“This launch, in addition to the more than 100 ballistic missile launches since 2022 to date, is a clear violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, jeopardizes international peace and security, and threatens to undermine the global nonproliferation regime,” the countries said in the statement that Robert Wood, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., read out at U.N. headquarters in New York.
“We must not allow the sheer volume of DPRK launches to normalize its unlawful and destabilizing behavior.”
They also noted that the U.S. introduced a press statement to the Security Council in response to the North’s provocation, but “two council members” refused to join a united denunciation. They were apparently referring to China and Russia.
They called on Pyongyang to return to negotiations, comply with its obligations under numerous Security Council resolutions and abandon its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.”
