November 4, 2024
Thank you, Madam President. And may I just say before beginning, I want to congratulate you on assuming the Presidency and please know that my delegation looks forward to working with you closely as you carry out your duties.
I want to thank you, Assistant Secretary-General Khiari, for your briefing.
The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the DPRK’s October 30 launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in direct violation of multiple Security Council resolutions.
The DPRK continues to advance its unlawful ballistic missile program and has now launched well over 100 ballistic missiles since the beginning of 2022.
Each of these tests is a flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Each test informs the DPRK of its capability gaps and allows Pyongyang to further advance its weapons programs. These are unacceptable attempts to undermine global peace and security and make us all less safe.
This Council has the responsibility to hold the DPRK accountable. Yet we are here again today because two members of this Council – China and Russia – have repeatedly shielded the DPRK, contributing to the normalization of these tests and emboldening the DPRK to further violate this Council’s sanctions and resolutions.
Despite being Permanent Members of this Council, Russia and China have shamelessly protected Pyongyang from any reprisal, or even condemnation of its actions. In March, Russia handed Kim Jong Un the gift of terminating the 1718 Committee Panel of Experts as the DPRK supplies ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia for its brutal war against Ukraine. China, with its abstention on the Panel’s mandate renewal, clearly showed the world where it stands on curbing DPRK proliferation.
Shielded from closer scrutiny of its sanctions-violating activities by Moscow and Beijing, Pyongyang, unsurprisingly, has been emboldened to continue advancing its unlawful ballistic missile, nuclear, and WMD programs.
But Russia’s willingness to openly violate this Council’s sanctions resolutions and to jeopardize international peace and security knows no bounds – as Russia, is unlawfully training DPRK soldiers in its territory.
The DPRK has sent around 10,000 soldiers to Russia. Russian forces have trained these DPRK soldiers in artillery operations, UAV operations, and basic infantry operations.
DPRK soldiers receiving or providing any training or other assistance related to the use of ballistic missiles or other arms is a direct violation of Security Council Resolutions 1718, 1874, and 2270.
These latest egregious acts come as Russia and the DPRK continue to violate these same resolutions by transferring lethal DPRK weapons to Russia – weapons Russia has used against Ukraine, including against civilian targets.
We have not yet seen DPRK soldiers deploy into combat against Ukraine’s forces, but we expect them to do so in the coming days. The nature of the training Russia is providing to these forces, to include trench clearing, indicates Russia intends to use these forces in frontline operations.
If these troops engage in combat or combat support operations against Ukraine, they would render themselves legitimate military targets.
And let’s be clear, if DPRK soldiers do enter into combat, this would demonstrate Russia’s growing desperation in its war against Ukraine. It would also demonstrate an unprecedented level of direct military cooperation between Russia and the DPRK, with security implications in Europe as well as the Indo-Pacific.
All members of this Council used to consistently condemn the DPRK’s serious and intensifying threat to international peace and security. All members of this Council used to be fully committed to upholding the Security Council resolutions that seek to safeguard international peace and security.
But China and Russia now repeatedly block the Security Council from speaking against the DPRK’s behavior.
These recent developments threaten us all.
Colleagues, all Member States have an obligation to faithfully implement the legally binding measures under Security Council resolutions.
To my Russian and Chinese colleagues: it is time to stop obstructing and rejoin the rest of us in voicing a united and clear denunciation of the DPRK’s behavior; to call on all UN Member States to fully and faithfully implement UN Security Council resolutions; and to work together to prevent the DPRK’s procurement activities and revenue flows supporting its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs.
Colleagues, in response to recent developments, the United States introduced a press statement which sought to condemn DPRK’s intercontinental ballistic missile in direct violation of this Council’s resolutions. It is unfortunate that Russia and China could not join us in voicing a united denunciation, and to uphold the Council’s legally binding measures that seek to safeguard international peace and security.
Thank you, Madam President.
Additional Remarks
Thank you very much, Madam President, and I apologize for taking the floor a second time, but I need to address a few points that have been raised here.
First and foremost, just for those who may not be aware, the DPRK is under sanctions by the United Nations Security Council – not the United States.
As the DPRK representative said here, “this meeting of the Council is illegal” – the Council is not holding an “illegal” meeting as he maintains.
DPRK is on the Council’s agenda. It is sanctioned by the Council. So I would just say to the DPRK representative: He should read the Charter, and if he needs a copy of it, we can certainly get that for him.
To address a couple of points that were raised by the representative of China here with regards to engagement with DPRK: The United States has repeatedly offered to have unconditional talks with the DPRK. Every time that we have made this point, and reached out our hand, it was met by a clinched fist.
To our Russian colleague, the point about why is the issue of DPRK being raised in a meeting here? DPRK, again, poses a threat to international peace and security. Russia has agreed to resolutions that clearly identify DPRK as a threat to international peace and security. So that situation with regards to DPRK has only worsened, therefore we think it is important for this Council to convene to discuss these issues.
Just going back to my Chinese colleague, he raised the issue of AUKUS – AUKUS has not been engaged in any type of activity that runs counter to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. He knows that. This issue has been raised before, and we have addressed it very clearly.
I would agree with our Chinese colleague that the Council should provide a unified message, position, on the question of DPRK. The problem has been, at least for the last two years, Russia and China have prevented the Council from issuing any kind of a document on the situation in DPRK. In fact, we have tried several times to get just the basic press elements out, factual press elements, and they have not agreed to do that.
Our U.S. military exercises with its allies – as we have said many, many times in the past, these exercises are defensive in nature, they are transparent, they are longstanding, and do not pose a threat to DPRK. Again, we have offered to hold talks with DPRK, repeatedly, and they have been rejected.
What I would just say to our Russian and Chinese friends is with the trajectory of the DPRK’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, you cannot expect the United States to stand back and allow this type of growing threat to our security to go without a response so we will continue to take measures that are necessary to protect our security and those of our allies.
The issue of sanctions has been raised. We believe in having unconditional talks with DPRK, but we are not going to reward DPRK for coming back to the table by giving them something. What kind of a message does that send to would-be proliferators in the future?
My last point: Last week, and this was an issue that was just raised this morning by the representative of the Russian Federation, this issue about DPRK troops in Russia. I ask the Russian representative whether or not there are DPRK troops in Russia. I did not receive a response, at all. I asked the question again today only because it was raised by the representative of the Russian Federation: Are there DPRK troops in Russia?
Thank you, Madam President.
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Thank you, Madam President. I will be very, very brief here. I greatly appreciate the offer from the representative of the Russian Federation to obtain a copy of her statement, but that really isn’t necessary. I heard the statement, as did others in this room, but the one question still remains that that statement does not address, and that is: whether there are DPRK troops on the ground in Russia? And my question still stands, and I hope that the Russian Federation will answer that simple question. Thank you.