UN Security Council Threatens DPRK with New Sanctions for Missile Tests

"The members of the Security Council strongly condemned the most recent ballistic missile launches conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 28 April and 13 May 2017," the council members said in a press release for the media.

"The members of the Security Council expressed their utmost concern over the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s highly destabilizing behavior and flagrant and provocative defiance of the Security Council by conducting these ballistic missile launches in violation of its international obligations under United Nations Security Council resolutions (…)," the Security Council said.

"The members of the Security Council vowed to fully implement all measures imposed on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea by the Security Council and strongly urge all other Member States to do so in an expeditious and serious manner," the press release added, TASS news agency reported.

"The members of the Security Council agreed that the Security Council would continue to closely monitor the situation and take further significant measures including sanctions, in line with the Council’s previously expressed determination," the Security Council said.

On May 14 (May 13 EDT in the US), the DPRK did a new - and successful - launch of a ballistic missile. The Hwasong-12 missile launched from the area of Kuson, northwestern Phyongan-bukto (North Pyongan) province covered a distance of 787 km, reaching an altitude of 2,111 km as reported by DPRK media reports and landing near the coast of Japan.

UN Security Council’s resolutions strictly forbid any activity on developing nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles on the part of the DPRK. Pyongyang does not recognize the document and says it has all the rights for strengthening its defense capabilities on the background of Washington’s hostile policies.