North Korea’s missile launches pose a serious threat to civil aviation and shipping, Khaled Hiari, UN Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, said during a UN Security Council meeting on Monday.
The agenda of the meeting was related to the recent launch of the first North Korean reconnaissance satellite.
Previously, the North Korean Foreign Ministry said that the launch carried out on November 21 was intended to monitor the United States and its allies. Pyongyang’s statement on Monday spoke of its readiness to launch new satellites.
Khaled Khiari told the Security Council that although North Korea sent advance notice of the satellite launch to the Japanese Coast Guard, it did not notify international maritime, civil aviation and telecommunications organizations about it.
“North Korea’s (missile) launches pose a serious threat to international civil aviation and maritime traffic,” Khiari said.
Since 2006, North Korea has been under UN sanctions for its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
“North Korea has clearly demonstrated its intentions. “North Korea is brazenly seeking to develop its nuclear weapons delivery systems by testing ballistic missile technology, in clear violation of this council’s resolutions,” said US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
“This reckless illegal behavior threatens all of the DPRK’s neighbors and all (UN) member states,” she stressed.
