The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held an open meeting on the afternoon of the 13th (local time) at the UN Headquarters in New York to begin discussions on North Korea's recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launch.
This meeting was convened following North Korea's recent test launch of a new solid-fuel ICBM.
At the meeting, Western countries including the United States and the European Union (EU) are expected to strongly condemn North Korea's repeated violations of UNSC sanctions resolutions and call for official UNSC responses such as adopting a presidential statement. Although South Korea is not currently a UNSC member, it agreed to the meeting request in coordination with key allies such as the United States and Japan.
However, as permanent UNSC members with veto power, China and Russia maintain opposition to these claims, so no concrete outcomes are expected.
North Korea also attended the meeting as a party concerned and reportedly requested to speak. It is the first time in about five years and six months since December 2017 that a diplomat from the North Korean Mission to the UN has spoken at the UNSC.
North Korea has not spoken at the UNSC since the 2018 inter-Korean summits and the start of denuclearization talks with former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Earlier, on the 12th, North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the East Sea and officially announced it as the "new solid-fuel ICBM Hwasong-18."
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