U.N. Security Council condemns North Korea test
conference Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Nikki Haley, his U.N. ambassador, said in a statement later: “We call on all members of the Security Council to use every available resource to make it clear to the North Korean regime — and its enablers — that these launches are unacceptable.”
“It is time to hold North Korea accountable — not with our words, but with our actions,” she said.
There was no indication of what “actions” the Trump administration has in mind, and Ukraine’s U.N. ambassador, Volodymyr Yelchenko, the current council president, and Japanese Ambassador Koro Bessho wouldn’t comment on possible “further significant measures.”
Those same words were used in the last Security Council statement on the unsuccessful Oct. 17 missile test by North Korea. That was followed by the latest sanctions resolution Nov. 30 targeting North Korea’s hard currency revenues by placing a cap on coal exports, cutting them by at least 62 percent or by an estimated $800 million.
The council statement issued Monday was almost exactly the same as the one adopted Oct. 17 — a practice that makes it much easier for members to reach quick agreement.
Guterres called the latest launch “a further troubling violation” of council resolutions and urged North Korea to comply with its international obligations, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.