Security Council Emergency Meeting Reconvened After Ten Days

Discussion on Consecutive North Korean Missile Provocations
US Calls It a "Dangerous Situation" · Japan Warns of "Imminent Threat"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] An emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will be held on the 20th to discuss North Korea's missile issues that have occurred repeatedly since the beginning of the year. This UNSC meeting is convened again after ten days.

According to foreign media on the 19th (local time), a closed-door UNSC meeting will be held on the 20th (early morning of the 21st Korean time) at the request of the United States to discuss North Korea's missile issues. The United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Mexico, and Albania also joined the request for the meeting. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, said in an interview with The Washington Post, "We will continue to increase pressure on North Korea," adding, "Their attacks violate UN Security Council resolutions."

This meeting request comes after North Korea provoked four times, including firing a short-range ballistic missile presumed to be the North Korean version of the ATACMS (KN-24) on the 17th. Previously, on the 5th and 11th, ballistic missiles claimed to be "hypersonic missiles" were launched, and on the 14th, two KN-23 missiles were fired.

This meeting is being held again just ten days after a closed-door UNSC meeting was convened on the 10th (local time) at the U.S. request following North Korea's second missile launch of the year. Before the meeting, the U.S., along with Albania, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, and Japan, issued a joint statement condemning North Korea's missile launches and urging restraint from further provocations.

In the U.S., there are claims that North Korea's continued missile launches are "refining tactical capabilities to wage war using nuclear weapons." Senator James Risch, the Republican ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement on the day, "North Korea's recent missile launches are a significant milestone in advancing tactical capabilities," warning that it is an "incredibly dangerous situation."

Similar voices came from Japan. On the 19th, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi announced the analysis results of the four missile launches by North Korea since the beginning of this year, emphasizing, "They are rapidly and steadily improving technology, including secrecy that makes it difficult to detect launch signs and enhanced surprise attack capabilities," calling it a "serious and imminent threat."