외교부

Remarks by Ambassador Cho Tae-yul

Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea

UN Security Council Meeting

5 July 2017

Mr. President,

At the outset, I would like to thank the Chinese Presidency for convening today's meeting. My delegation is grateful for the opportunity to participate in this emergency meeting to address the serious and urgent issue of the DPRK’s launch of a ballistic missile of intercontinental-class range on the 3rdofJuly.

It is deeply regrettable that the DPRK responded with yet another, even more serious provocation to the repeated message from the new Government in Seoul under the leadership of President Moon Jae-in emphasizing the need for peaceful resolution of the issue and its willingness to engage in dialogue under the right circumstances. It is also a source of our profound disappointment that the DPRK once again has chosen the wrong path by test-firing another long-range ballistic missile just a few days after the ROK-US summit meeting in Washington on June 30, 2017, during which the two leaders called upon the DPRK to refrain from provocative, destabilizing actions and rhetoric, and to make a strategic choice to fulfill its international obligations and commitments.

The Republic of Korea condemns, in the strongest terms, the DPRK’s latest provocation as a flagrant violation of relevant Security Council resolutions. We urge the DPRK to no longer test the unwavering resolve of the Government of the Republic of Korea as well as the international community to achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. The DPRK’s repeated provocations, in defiance of multiple Security Council resolutions, will only strengthen the resolve of the international community and be met with a more resolute response. Pyongyang must realize that its obsessive pursuit of nuclear and missile programs and continued provocations will only serve to worsen its diplomatic isolation and deepen its economic plight.

Mr. President,

Given the urgency and gravity of this issue, we, the international community, must once again demonstrate our strong resolve not to tolerate the DPRK’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which have become a global threat that requires global action.

In this regard, I would like to refer to the Security Council’s previously expressed determination that it will take “further significant measures” in the event of a further DPRK nuclear test or missile launch. Indeed, we must take stronger measures, including a new Security Council sanctions resolution, to stop the DPRK’s provocations. At the same time, the need for swift, full, and thorough implementation of the sanctions resolutions cannot be overemphasized as an effective tool to bring the DPRK back to credible negotiations for denuclearization.

This is the last opportunity for the DPRK to chart a new beginning in inter-Korean relations, as well as in its relations with the international community. The DPRK must renounce its nuclear brinkmanship and step back from the point of “no return.” Pyongyang should awaken from its delusion that nuclear and ballistic missile development can ensure its security and, instead, resolve to choose the path toward denuclearization. Thank you. /End/