On Monday, India partnered with the United States and a few other countries in condemning North Korea’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile launch, expressing concern about the expansion of nuclear and missile technologies. India said that it would have an adverse impact on regional stability and security, including on India.
India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, addressed the UN Security Council session on North Korea and said that New Delhi condemns North Korea’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch. The Council on November 21 met for the second time to discuss the issue.
India part of joint statement on North Korea that calls for Pyongyang to “abandon its unlawful weapons programs” pic.twitter.com/BDwa3fpFRy
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) November 22, 2022
This is after North Korea launched its latest missile on November 18 which landed about 125 miles from Japan’s coastline. The country has also launched a. number of other ballistic missiles in the previous months. “These launches constitute a violation of the resolutions of the Security Council relating to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and affect the peace and security of the region and beyond,” Kamboj said.
On the missile launch, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield issued a joint statement on behalf of Albania, Australia, Ecuador, France, Ireland, Japan, Malta, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The joint statement sharply denounced the November 18 launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, as well as the accompanying assertion in North Korea’s state-controlled media claiming that it could be utilized for a preemptive nuclear strike. According to Kamboj, India wants the relevant UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea to be fully implemented.
“We would also like to reiterate, once again, the importance of addressing the proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies related to DPRK. The proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies is a matter of concern, as they have an adverse impact on peace and security in the region, including on India,” Kamboj went on to say adding that New Delhi hopes the international community and the Security Council could come together on this issue.
India underscored its commitment to denuclearisation as a means of achieving peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. “Ensuring peace and security in the Korean Peninsula is in our collective interest. Going forward, we will continue to support dialogue and diplomacy as the means to resolve the issues in the Korean Peninsula,” the statement said.
#IndiainUNSC
— India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) November 21, 2022
“Proliferation of nuclear & missile technologies is a matter of concern, as they have an adverse impact on peace & security in the region, including on 🇮🇳. We hope the intl community & the #SecurityCouncil can be united on this front”
PR at #UNSC Meeting on #DPRK pic.twitter.com/mfb9eE3o3R
According to the joint statement, this was North Korea’s eighth intercontinental ballistic missile launch this year. “Compared with the total number of intercontinental ballistic missile launches prior to 2022, this represents a serious escalation and poses an unequivocal threat to international peace and security,” the statement read, adding that North Korea is acting with impunity in the face of the Security Council’s inaction.
According to Thomas-Greenfield, the 14 countries agreed that the council must condemn North Korea’s activities with a collective voice and take steps to halt its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile advancement, particularly when it comes to nuclear missile technologies in North Korea, the territory, and even beyond.
“We invite all member states to join us in condemning the DPRK’s unlawful ballistic missile launches and call for full implementation of the existing Security Council resolutions. We also urge the DPRK to abandon its unlawful weapons programmes in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner,” the statement read.
Rosemary DiCarlo, Head of UN Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), meanwhile told the assembly that missile Hwasong-17 travelled 1,000 kilometres and reached an elevation of roughly 6,100 kilometres.
She said it was the first successful experiment of North Korea’s biggest and most influential missile, capable of reaching the whole continent of North America. She described the launch as the newest in a series of concerning activities connected to North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs in 2022.
She went on to say that North Korea appeared to be aggressively pursuing its nuclear program and that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General confirmed on November 16 that the Punggye-ri nuclear test site remains ready to enable a nuclear test.
“The IAEA continues to monitor operations at the facility. It also witnessed building operations at the Yongbyon nuclear facilities, as well as signs that the 5-megawatt nuclear reactor was operational,” DiCarlo stated.
Noting that this was the council’s tenth meeting to examine North Korea in 2022, she stated that the scenario on the Korean Peninsula continues to deteriorate. “The repeated missile launches, confrontational rhetoric, and military exercises contribute to a negative action-reaction cycle. Tensions continue to increase, with no off-ramps in sight. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic is complicating diplomacy by impeding official and unofficial contacts with the DPRK,” she said.
North Korea’s missile tests
North Korea increased its nuke tests in October, partly in reaction to recent military drills involving South Korea, Japan, and the United States. According to the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and the Associated Press, the country has released more than 40 ballistic and cruise missiles in more than 20 distinct testing events this year more than any prior year since leader Kim Jong Un took office in 2011.
There had been six tests in that month alone by mid-October. The October 4 launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, which flew nearly 2,800 miles over Japan for 22 minutes, was of special concern. This was the first known North Korean missile flight over Japan since 2017.
According to initial media reports, the October 4 launch featured a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile able to reach Guam, but some analysts now believe the weapon was a freshly constructed missile that Pyongyang had not tested before.
The country also on November 2 launched 25 different types of missiles off its east and west shores. One of the short-range ballistic missiles was fired toward South Korea’s Ulleung Island, activating the air raid warning. The same missile landed 26 kilometres (16 miles) south of the contentious Northern Limit Line (NLL) between North and South Korea.
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) state that one of the missiles fired toward the South was a deliberate attempt to target the South Korean territorial waters for the first time. “North Korea is also exhibiting risk-escalatory behaviour by firing multiple missiles toward the east and west seas of the peninsula despite the presence of the US and South Korean forces,” the statement analysis added.
