The text of the following statement was released by the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union.
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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 launch using ballistic missile technology conducted on November 21, 2023. This action poses a grave threat to the peace and stability of the region and beyond. Any launch using ballistic missile technology, even if it is characterized as a military reconnaissance satellite, constitutes a clear, flagrant violation of relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs).
North Korea continues to expand its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and to escalate its destabilizing activities. We reiterate our call for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and demand that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, and any other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner in accordance with all relevant UNSCRs. North Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon State under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
North Korea’s reckless action must be met with a swift, united, and robust international response, particularly by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). We urge UNSC Members to follow through on their commitments and call on all UN Member States to fully and effectively implement relevant UNSCRs. In this context, we reiterate our strong condemnation on arms transfers from North Korea to Russia, which directly violate relevant UNSCRs. We urge North Korea and Russia to abide by these UNSCRs and immediately cease all such activities. In addition, we are deeply concerned about the potential for any transfer of nuclear- or ballistic missile-related technology to North Korea, which would further threaten the peace and stability of the region as well as across the globe.
We deplore North Korea’s systematic human rights violations and abuses, and its choice to prioritize its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs over the welfare of the people in North Korea. We continue to call on North Korea to engage in meaningful diplomacy and accept the repeated offers of dialogue put forward by Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea without preconditions.
The G7 remains committed to working with all relevant partners toward the goal of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and to upholding the international order based on the rule of law.
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