PRESS RELEASE : A return to dialogue remains the only means of resolving insecurity on the Korean Peninsula [November 2022]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 21 November 2022.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the Security Council briefing on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile test.

Thank you President, and I thank Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo for her briefing.

We too condemn in the strongest terms DPRK’s further serious breach of Council resolutions, which threatens international peace and security.

The Council last discussed the DPRK’s ballistic missile launches just over two weeks ago. At that meeting, all but two Council members emphasised the seriousness of the situation and supported a clear response. Yet despite the egregious violation of Council resolutions, the same two members prevented the Council from fulfilling its role.

When the DPRK tested intercontinental ballistic missiles in 2017, the Council’s response on each occasion was robust and unified, with the unanimous adoption of resolutions 2371, 2375 and 2379. Negotiations between the DPRK and the US began within months.

A return to dialogue remains the only means of resolving insecurity on the Korean Peninsula. However, continued Council silence in the face of DPRK’s provocations will not achieve this. We therefore support the draft Presidential Statement proposed by the US. The UK will continue to call upon DPRK to cease its illegal activity and to engage meaningfully with offers of dialogue from the United States and the Republic of Korea. Diplomacy remains the only option..

President, we strongly encourage the DPRK to invest in food and medicine for its people rather than its illegal weapons programme, to provide access for UN staff, and allow aid to flow freely into the country. We welcome the 1718 Committee’s continued efforts to quickly exempt humanitarian assistance from sanctions.

Thank you.