North Korea’s “irresponsible” launch of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, which appears to be its latest ICBM, was condemned by the G7 nations on Sunday. They call for “a united and strong response from the international community” and urge the United Nations (UN) Security Council to take “significant” further action to end North Korean testing.
Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States) said North Korea’s continued missile launches “will further destabilize the region, despite the international community’s calls for peace and stability.” A representative of the European Union joined the statement.
Since early November, North Korea has tested a record number of missiles, including a ballistic missile on Friday that landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone of Hokkaido. North Korea’s state agency KCNA said it was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) type Hwasong-17, nicknamed the “monster missile” by military experts.
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The G7 statement reiterated demands that North Korea’s nuclear program be verifiably dismantled, and that the isolated nation “will never attain nuclear state status.”
Guterres has been called ‘America’s puppet’ by Pyongyang
The UN has adopted nearly a dozen resolutions imposing economic sanctions on North Korea since 2006.
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Hours before the meeting, North Korea called UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres a “puppet of the United States” for condemning the missile launch. “I express my deep regret that (he) has adopted a truly despicable attitude that ignores the purpose and principles of the United Nations Charter and its mission to maintain impartiality, objectivity and fairness in all matters,” Minister Cho Son said in a statement Sunday evening quoted by North Korea’s official foreign KCNA news agency. Hui said.
On Friday, Antonio Guterres called on North Korea to “immediately refrain from any provocative actions” and “fully respect its international obligations under Security Council resolutions.”
Cho Son Hui complained that the UN chief described North Korea’s missile tests as “provocations” and not the joint military maneuvers that the United States, South Korea and Japan routinely conduct in the region. Current Conflict Situation on the Korean Peninsula”.
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