North Korea condemned for weapons program
North Korea has continued to escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula by conducting another missile test. On Sunday, the North fired eight short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) toward the East Sea. The launch was the North's 18th military provocation this year and the third since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office May 10.
We cannot but express grave concerns about the North's repeated show of force which was in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions which ban Pyongyang from nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The saber-rattling came a day after South Korea and the U.S. wrapped a three-day joint exercise in international waters off Okinawa as part of their stepped-up efforts to better respond to the North's continued provocations.
During the naval exercise, the two allies mobilized the USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, to send a strong warning against the recalcitrant North. It followed the North's May 25 launch of a suspected new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and two short-range ballistic missiles right after U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to South Korea and Japan.
During their summit on May 21, Yoon and Biden agreed to strengthen extended deterrence, deploy strategic assets and expand combined military exercises to cope with the North's ceaseless provocative acts and weapons development. Regrettably, however, the Kim Jong-un regime has continued to defy repeated calls from the allies and the international community to stop further provocations and return to dialogue. More worrisome is that the North is reportedly ready to conduct a seventh nuclear test at any time.
North Korea invited severe condemnation Thursday for continuing its nuclear and missile development program when it assumed the rotating presidency of the Geneva-based U.N. Conference on Disarmament. Australian Ambassador Amanda Gorely read a joint statement by 48 countries and the European Union that called the North's nuclear and missile program a violation of the UNSC resolutions. However, North Korean Ambassador Han Tae-song ignored the call, arguing that his country remains committed to contributing to global peace and disarmament. It is nonsense for the North to take over as head of the U.N. conference although the role rotates alphabetically among the 65 member countries. The North should realize that its chairmanship will only undermine the credibility of the U.N.
The Kim regime should not try to take advantage of a new Cold War confrontation between the U.S.-led Western democracies and the grouping of China and Russia following Putin's war in Ukraine. The U.N. Security Council failed to push for additional sanctions against the North due to a veto by China and Russia. Yet the failure cannot and should not be seen as carte blanche for the North to build up its nuclear arsenal.
We urge Pyongyang to focus on keeping in check the spread of COVID-19 to ensure North Koreans' health and improve their living standard by reviving the state's moribund economy. Nuclear weapons cannot guarantee its survival. The leadership there will only deepen its international isolation and may cause its self-destruction. The Kim regime should return to dialogue immediately to find a peaceful solution to the nuclear showdown.
North Korea has continued to escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula by conducting another missile test. On Sunday, the North fired eight short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) toward the East Sea. The launch was the North's 18th military provocation this year and the third since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office May 10.
We cannot but express grave concerns about the North's repeated show of force which was in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions which ban Pyongyang from nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The saber-rattling came a day after South Korea and the U.S. wrapped a three-day joint exercise in international waters off Okinawa as part of their stepped-up efforts to better respond to the North's continued provocations.
During the naval exercise, the two allies mobilized the USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, to send a strong warning against the recalcitrant North. It followed the North's May 25 launch of a suspected new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and two short-range ballistic missiles right after U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to South Korea and Japan.
During their summit on May 21, Yoon and Biden agreed to strengthen extended deterrence, deploy strategic assets and expand combined military exercises to cope with the North's ceaseless provocative acts and weapons development. Regrettably, however, the Kim Jong-un regime has continued to defy repeated calls from the allies and the international community to stop further provocations and return to dialogue. More worrisome is that the North is reportedly ready to conduct a seventh nuclear test at any time.
North Korea invited severe condemnation Thursday for continuing its nuclear and missile development program when it assumed the rotating presidency of the Geneva-based U.N. Conference on Disarmament. Australian Ambassador Amanda Gorely read a joint statement by 48 countries and the European Union that called the North's nuclear and missile program a violation of the UNSC resolutions. However, North Korean Ambassador Han Tae-song ignored the call, arguing that his country remains committed to contributing to global peace and disarmament. It is nonsense for the North to take over as head of the U.N. conference although the role rotates alphabetically among the 65 member countries. The North should realize that its chairmanship will only undermine the credibility of the U.N.
The Kim regime should not try to take advantage of a new Cold War confrontation between the U.S.-led Western democracies and the grouping of China and Russia following Putin's war in Ukraine. The U.N. Security Council failed to push for additional sanctions against the North due to a veto by China and Russia. Yet the failure cannot and should not be seen as carte blanche for the North to build up its nuclear arsenal.
We urge Pyongyang to focus on keeping in check the spread of COVID-19 to ensure North Koreans' health and improve their living standard by reviving the state's moribund economy. Nuclear weapons cannot guarantee its survival. The leadership there will only deepen its international isolation and may cause its self-destruction. The Kim regime should return to dialogue immediately to find a peaceful solution to the nuclear showdown.
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