“The United States calls on all member states to fully implement the current Security Council resolutions,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield said during the meeting, which was held to discuss the North Korea issue.
“Due to the increasingly serious provocations of the DPRK, the United States will present a draft resolution to the Security Council to modernize and strengthen the sanctions regime,” which was adopted in December 2017, she added.
Thomas Greenfield recalled that at that time, “the council decided that it would take further action in the event of an ICBM launch by the DPRK.”
And she added, “That’s exactly what happened, so now is the time to take those measures.”
Council members voted unanimously on the draft resolution a month after Pyongyang launched an ICBM (Hwasong-15), which was deemed powerful enough to reach the US mainland.
Then, in April 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un formalized a moratorium on nuclear testing and long-range ballistic missile launches, arguing that his goals had been achieved and declaring that his country had become a nuclear state.
But he returned and personally supervised Thursday’s test, which the official news agency said was aimed at ensuring the country was prepared for a “prolonged confrontation” with the United States.
On Friday, the Group of Seven and the European Union condemned what they described as a “flagrant violation” by North Korea of its obligations under Security Council resolutions.
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