Good afternoon. Thank you for being here.
The United States and [insert countries] condemn in the strongest possible terms the DPRK’s October 30 intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
This launch—in addition to the more than 100 ballistic missile launches since 2022—is a clear violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, jeopardizes international peace and security, and threatens to undermine the global nonproliferation region. We must not allow the sheer volume of DPRK launches to normalize its unlawful and destabilizing behavior.
In response to this provocation, the United States introduced a press statement to the Council that simply recounted the details of the launch and expressed the Council’s position that it violated UN Security Council resolutions. However, two Council members refused to join a united denunciation and call to uphold the Council’s legally binding measures.
All Member States are obligated to implement sanctions on the DPRK, which remain in effect and are in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. We urge all Council Members to abide by their responsibility to monitor implementation of sanctions, maintain international peace and security, and uphold the global nonproliferation regime.
[Insert countries] and the United States remain committed to diplomacy. We call on the DPRK to return to negotiations, comply with its obligations under numerous UN Security Council resolutions, and abandon its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.
