North Korean ICBM test condemned by two-thirds of UN Security Council

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.S.-led statement approved by 10 of the 15 U.N. Security Council members Tuesday condemned a recent North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile launch and called on Pyongyang to return to negotiations and abandon its missile programs.

The statement follows a series of recent North Korean missile launches, including the test Thursday of the country’s newest ICBM that is designed to reach the United States.

The 10 Security Council members said that the launch — in addition to more than 100 North Korean ballistic missile launches since 2022 — violates multiple Security Council resolutions prohibiting the North from using ballistic missile technology and jeopardizes international peace and security.

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies also decried last week’s launch in a statement Tuesday, saying North Korea “continues to advance its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and to escalate its destabilizing activities.” The G7 is Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

At the United Nations, U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood read the statement to reporters surrounded by diplomats from the nine other nations that signed on — Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. They were joined by representatives from three countries that will join the council in January — Denmark, Greece, and Panama.