UN debates more North Korea sanctions after missile test

UN debates more North Korea sanctions after missile test
This May 14, 2017, photo distributed by the North Korean government shows the "Hwasong-12," a new type of ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)—U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is condemning the latest North Korean ballistic missile test as a violation of Security Council resolutions and a threat to peace and security in the region.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday that Guterres had called on North Korea to fully comply with its international obligations “and return to the path of denuclearization.”

The Security Council has approved six increasingly tougher sanctions resolutions following its nuclear and missile tests. The United States and China are reportedly working on a new even tougher resolution.

France, UK want new North Korea sanctions

France’s U.N. ambassador said Security Council members are working on a resolution that would impose new sanctions against North Korea and strengthen enforcement of existing sanctions.

Francois Delattre told reporters Monday that France favors “a strong, swift and firm reaction of the council” to North Korea’s test on Sunday of a new longer-range ballistic missile, which he called “a serious threat to peace and security both in the region and the world.”

The Security Council is scheduled to hold closed-door consultations on the missile test on Tuesday.

British U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft also called the test a threat to international peace and security and said “the U.K. favors tougher sanctions.”

Swedish U.N. Ambassador Olof Skoog said the council needs a firm, united response but “we also feel there needs to be openness for a conversation for dialogue.”

Putin condemns North korea missile test

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned North Korea’s latest test-firing of a ballistic missile.

North Korea on Sunday launched what it said was a new type of “medium long-range” ballistic rocket that can carry a heavy nuclear warhead.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to China, Putin said Monday that “there’s nothing good about” the launch.

The Russian defense ministry said the missile landed several hundred kilometers away from the city of Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East, but Putin said the missile “didn’t present a threat” to his country.

In comments carried by Russian news agencies, Putin said Russia considers North Korea’s missile launches and nuclear tests to be “unacceptable,” adding that “we need to return to a dialogue with North Korea, stop intimidating it and find peaceful solutions.”

North Korea calls missile program self-defense

North Korea’s ambassador to China said that Pyongyang’s test-firing of a ballistic missile over the weekend is part of the country’s efforts to develop ways to defend itself against hostile aggression abroad.

Ji Jae Ryong told reporters Monday at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing that Pyongyang would continue to conduct launches in the future, as long as the country’s supreme leader deemed necessary.

North Korea says Sunday’s launch was of a new type of “medium long-range” ballistic rocket that can carry a heavy nuclear warhead.

Ji also repeated an assertion by North Korean officials that Pyongyang has successfully foiled a CIA-backed plot to kill leader Kim Jong Un last month with a biochemical poison.

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