PRESS RELEASE : G7 Foreign Ministers’ Statement [March 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 16 March 2023.
On the launch of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile by North Korea.
We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, condemn in the strongest terms North Korea’s March 16 launch of yet another Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), which undermines regional and international peace and security.
Since last year, North Korea has intensified its escalatory actions through a record number of ballistic missile launches and its continued irresponsible and destabilizing rhetoric regarding the use of nuclear weapons. Earlier this year, North Korea publicly stated its intent to further expand and enhance its unlawful nuclear and missile programs.
We reiterate our demand that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, and any other weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner and fully comply with all obligations under the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs). North Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon State in accordance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We urge North Korea to engage in meaningful diplomacy toward denuclearization and accept the repeated offers of dialogue put forward by Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea.
We deeply regret to see the stark contrast between the frequency of North Korea’s repeated blatant violations of UNSCRs and the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) corresponding inaction because of some members’ obstruction. North Korea’s reckless behavior demands a swift and unified response by the international community, including further significant measures by the UNSC. We call on all UN Member States to fully and effectively implement all UNSCRs, and for the UNSC Members to follow through on their commitments.
The G7 remains concerned about the dire humanitarian situation in North Korea and is committed to working with all relevant partners toward the goal of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and to upholding the rules-based international order.
