New York | January 20, 2022 – Today, Albania together with the USA, Great Britain, France, Japan, Ireland, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates condemned the intensification of ballistic tests in the last two weeks by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. This joint statement preceded the second UN Security Council closed consultations, urgently called upon for these tests within the ten-day time segment.
The joint statement reaffirmed the Security Council member states’ growing concern over the RPDK’s growing military spending investments, at the expense of its own people, who continue to suffer the consequences of a harsh authoritarian regime and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
The seven SC member states and Japan reiterated that the use of ballistic missile technology is a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions, and that these facts should not be questioned. Such unlawful behavior is a threat to international peace and security, and called on fellow Security Council members to be unified in condemning such actions by the RPDK. According to them, “it is this unity, in speech and action, that has helped in the past bring the DPRK to the negotiating table and could advance stability for the region and international community.”
The declaration also urges the 1718 Committee to proactively support the implementation of all SC resolutions addressing the RPDK.
Finally, the participating states called on the North Korean regime to refrain from further destabilizing actions, to abandon its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, and return to unconditional dialogue and diplomacy, in order to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region, and to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions.
