New York (Union)
Yesterday, the UAE stressed the need for residents of the Korean Peninsula not to live under constant threat, stressing the importance of North Korea’s respect for the resolutions of the Security Council and the Cooperation Council to improve the humanitarian conditions of the its population.
In a statement before the UN Security Council on the recent missile tests of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the UAE said that the DPRK must comply with international laws and standards and relevant Security Council resolutions.
In the statement released by Muhammad Abu Shehab, Deputy Permanent Representative of the State to the United Nations and interim charge d’affaires, he urged North Korea to exercise restraint and prioritize diplomacy and dialogue, expressing concern over reports that the DPRK may be ready to conduct a nuclear test.
Abu Shehab said, according to the statement, that the Security Council should step up efforts to maintain peace and security on the Korean peninsula and maintain the global non-proliferation regime.
He stressed that the UAE continues to express its concern over the continuing deterioration of the humanitarian situation of the North Korean people, most of whom suffer from poverty. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has been invited to cooperate with the international community and the United Nations to alleviate the current humanitarian situation by facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid and by enabling relief organizations and the United Nations Resident Coordinator to carry out their vital activities from within the nation.
“It is unfortunate that North Korea continues to direct its very limited resources towards military capabilities, a country with urgent humanitarian and development needs of the North Korean people,” he added.
Abu Shehab stressed that the council should consider using all available measures, such as sanctions, indicating the state’s readiness to work with the rest of the council members to address concerns that may arise from the use by of the board of such procedures.
In addition, North Korea yesterday launched four short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, the South Korean army announced, in Pyongyang’s latest missile launches this week.
North Korean missile launches on Wednesday and Thursday included an ICBM and a missile that landed near South Korean territorial waters for the first time since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
The missile launch occurred when the United States and South Korea conducted a joint air exercise, the largest ever between them.
“The South Korean army has detected four short-range ballistic missiles launched by North Korea from Tunrim, in North Pyongan province, towards the West Sea,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The distance traveled was about 130 km, at an altitude of about 20 km, and at a speed of about Mach 5. This speed is five times faster than the speed of sound.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said South Korean and US intelligence are conducting further analysis of the data on the launches.
The United States and South Korea have warned that the missile launches could be the prelude to a North Korean nuclear test and have extended their largest aerial maneuvers of its kind to yesterday in response.
The joint exercises, called “Wakeful Storm”, were originally scheduled from Monday to last Friday. Exercises ended yesterday, during which the US Air Force deployed two long-range B-1B bombers.
