G7 nations on Sunday denounced North Korea’s “irresponsible” launch of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, urging the United Nations Security Council to take “significant” new steps to end North Korean tests.
The Group of Seven foreign ministers said the repeated missile strikes by North Korea “further destabilize the region, despite calls from the international community for peace and stability”.
The missile that Pyongyang tested on Friday appears to be its newest ICBM, whose potential range would allow it to hit the American mainland.
The G7 statement calls for “a united and robust response from the international community, including the need for the UN Security Council to take additional meaningful action.”
The G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain and the United States.
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 fell in Japan’s exclusive economic zone west of Hokkaido.
The North Korean state agency KCNA claimed that it was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) type Hwasong-17, nicknamed “monster missile” by military experts.
The UN Security Council has passed nearly a dozen resolutions imposing sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and missile activity since 2006.
The G7 statement reiterated demands that North Korea’s nuclear program must be dismantled in a verifiable manner, adding that the reclusive nation “will never have nuclear state status.” »