UK, France, Germany ‘strongly condemn’ North Korea’s missile tests

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Britain, France and Germany on Wednesday condemned a battery of “provocative” missile tests by North Korea and urged it to comply with UN resolutions ahead of Security Council talks.

“We strongly condemn these provocative actions, which undermine regional as well as international peace and security and are in clear violation of multiple unanimously adopted UN Security Council resolutions,” the European powers said in a joint statement.

The statement came as the United States requested an emergency meeting for Thursday of the UN Security Council, after North Korea launched its most powerful missile since 2017 last weekend.

North Korea has now conducted six ballistic missile tests since the start of the year, and is threatening to escalate its testing, the European countries said.

“Such activity is a matter of grave concern and will receive a united response,” their foreign ministries said.

“We call on the DPRK (North Korea) to implement the decisions of the Security Council in full, to accept the repeated offers of dialogue put forward by the United States and to take concrete actions towards the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles programmes.” (AFP)