G7 condemns North Korea for launching ballistic missiles and cooperating with Russia

The G7 foreign ministers have condemned North Korea’s illegal ballistic missile launch and the supply of weapons from North Korea to Russia.

The statement also notes that North Korea continues to build up its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and intensify its destabilising activities:

“We reiterate our call for the complete denuclearisation 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.”

The G7 has once again strongly condemned arms shipments from North Korea to Russia: “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.”