G7 Warns "North Korea-Russia Military Cooperation Violates UN Security Council Resolutions"

The Group of Seven (G7) warned that the recent military rapprochement between North Korea and Russia could lead to violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Following a meeting on the 19th (local time) in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, G7 foreign ministers issued a statement saying, "G7 member countries condemn the cooperation between North Korea and Russia as it could undermine peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond."

Regarding North Korea's illegal nuclear and missile development, they emphasized, "We demand that North Korea abandon its nuclear, weapons of mass destruction, and ballistic missile programs in a 'complete, verifiable, and irreversible' (CVID) manner in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions."

UN Security Council Resolution 1718, adopted in 2006, prohibits countries worldwide from engaging in arms transactions with North Korea. Russia also supported this resolution at the time.

US President Joe Biden is delivering a speech at the 78th United Nations General Assembly held at the UN Headquarters in New York on the 19th (local time). On this day, President Biden defined Russia's invasion of Ukraine as an "illegal war of aggression" and criticized it. [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

On the same day, U.S. President Joe Biden condemned North Korea's continued violations of UN Security Council resolutions in his speech at the UN General Assembly and pledged to pursue denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through diplomatic means.

President Biden stated, "Regarding the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which has been the cornerstone of international security progress for over 50 years, Russia has abandoned long-standing arms control agreements," adding, "This is an irresponsible act that betrays the United States' belief that the world will continue good-faith efforts to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction."

Meanwhile, the G7 ministers criticized Russia for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, demanding an immediate and unconditional withdrawal and reaffirming their commitment to cooperate in supporting Ukraine. Regarding China, they called for pressure to be applied to Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine.