On Sunday, The G7 condemned North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) two days earlier, saying the rogue regime will “never” gain the status of a nuclear state.
In a statement, the grouping—which comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), and the European Union (EU)—issued a firm rebuke of the “brazen launch” in the “strongest terms.”
Calling the “reckless act” a “blatant violation” of United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR), the countries said that the launch, combined with mounting “evidence of ongoing nuclear activities,” demonstrated Pyongyang’s “determination to advance and diversify its nuclear weapons and missile capabilities.”
The optics of handing down a legacy.
— Jenny Town (@j3nnyt0wn) November 18, 2022
The G7 noted that North Korea has undertaken a number of “unlawful” ballistic missile launches this year, some of which have flown over Japan, and thus called on it to “abandon” its weapons of mass destruction and nuclear programme “in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.”
“The DPRK cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon state in accordance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) or any other special status,” the group declared.
They urged Pyongyang to return to and fully comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and to “fully abide by all legal obligations” under relevant UN resolutions.
The G7 warned of a “united and robust” response and underscored the “urgent” need for additional measures via the UNSC.
North Korea has carried out a series of missile launches in recent months, including ICBMs and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. In fact, it has already conducted missile tests on 34 days this year, with the country passing a law in September that affirms its right to use pre-emptive nuclear strikes and makes the nuclear status “irreversible.”
In fact, the G7 statement came after it launched the Hwasong-17 ICBM, which is capable of striking the US, on Friday. The missile was designed to carry multiple nuclear warheads and landed near Japanese waters.
NEW: North Korea airs video footage of Hwasong-17 ICBM launch on November 18. (Videos of North Korean missile launches have been very rare since 2017.) pic.twitter.com/KeuQTuoYip
— Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) November 19, 2022
Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un said after the launch that Pyongyang will adopt a “more offensive” stance in response to US provocations, warning that it is ready for an “all-out confrontation.”
In addition, North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile on Thursday after its foreign minister, Choe Son-hui warned of a “fiercer” response as the US steps up its security commitments to South Korea and Japan. Choe said the US is “gambling, for which it will certainly regret.”
It also has the Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15 in its arsenal, both of which can reach the US mainland.
Kim Jong Un vows to answer "nukes for nukes and frontal confrontation for frontal confrontation," state media say.
— William Gallo (@GalloVOA) November 18, 2022
Full English statement via Voice of Korea: pic.twitter.com/xxjRVpAbDK
A day after the ICBM launch, the US and South Korea held a joint air drill with the US’ B-1B Lancer strategic bombers and F-16 fighter jets as well as South Korea’s F-35 jets. The two sides simulated aerial strikes on North Korean mobile missile launchers.
This shortly follows the Vigilant Storm joint air drill late last month—which involved more than 240 aircraft, including F-35A stealth fighters, F-15K jets and KF-16 jets from South Korea and F-35B stealth fighters, EA-18 electronic warfare aircraft, KC-135 tankers and U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft from the US—and Japan’s International Fleet Review near the start of this month, which the North has said were “fatal strategic mistakes.”
Kim appears undeterred by the threat of a collective international response and on Friday revealed his daughter to the world for the first time ever, as their pair inspected the launch of an ICBM. Korean news outlets have described the big real as an indication of Kim’s confidence in the “advancement” of the country’s missile programme, and may also hint at a succession plan.
We strongly condemn the long-range ballistic missile launch by North Korea, and we again call for North Korea to stop further unlawful, destabilizing acts. pic.twitter.com/rK01uT5XNl
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) November 18, 2022
Nevertheless, South Korea continues to harbour hope that it can prevent its neighbour from carrying out its seventh nuclear test, its first since 2017. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV last Wednesday, South Korean Unification Minister Kwon Young-se declared, “The goal of denuclearizing North Korea is not unattainable.”
While he admitted that deterrence, sanctions, and pressure cannot guarantee such an outcome, they can bring Pyongyang to the negotiation table.
The G7’s fierce condemnation comes only a day prior to Pyongyang slamming the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Guterres for calling the ICBM launch a “provocation.”
North Korea, however, appears unwilling to enter into dialogue and in fact called United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres a US “puppet” after he spoke out against the ICBM launch on Friday.
The North Korea missile was launched around 1014 and appears to have come down around 1120 to the west of Hokkaido in Japan's EEZ, according to NHK TV quoting the Japanese government. If confirmed, it would be the 34th launch this year. pic.twitter.com/hu16N1LZ3W
— Martyn Williams (@martyn_williams) November 18, 2022
Foreign Minister Choe expressed her “strong regret” over Gueterres’ “very deplorable attitude” and accused him of being “oblivious of the purpose and principles of the UN Charter” and its “proper mission,” which she said is “to maintain impartiality, objectivity and equity in all matters.”
The FM argued that Pyongyang’s recent actions were in response to the US and its allies’ “series of provocative nuclear war rehearsals” that included the use of “nuclear strategic assets in and around the Korean peninsula all the year round.”
He added that the DPRK was forced to take “indispensable action for self-defence under the worrying security environment in the Korean peninsula and the region caused by the US.”