On the 27th (local time), the UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting to discuss the issue of North Korea’s military reconnaissance satellite launch. At the same time, North Korea countered that the launch was a legitimate exercise of its right to self-defense.
Kim Song, North Korea’s ambassador to the UN, said at the meeting, “More than 500 satellites are currently orbiting the Earth, but the Security Council is repeating an abnormal practice of only problematizing North Korea’s artificial satellites,” and strongly condemned and firmly rejected this.
Ambassador Kim argued that this launch was due to the threat from the United States against North Korea and was a legitimate exercise of the right to self-defense. He mentioned the previous deployment of strategic assets such as U.S. aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered submarines on the Korean Peninsula, saying, “(The United States) is posing the most open and direct military threat to North Korea.”
He also stated, “No other nation in the world is in the security environment as critical as the DPRK,” and that “It is a legitimate right for the DPRK as another belligerent party to develop, test, manufacture and possess weapons systems equivalent to those that the United States possesses or is developing.”
Furthermore, he mocked that both the U.S. and the UN were raising concerns that North Korea’s launch involved ballistic missile technology, and he posed the question, “Does the U.S. launch satellites with balloons or catapults instead of utilizing ballistic missile technology?”
In response, Hwang Joon Kook, South Korea’s ambassador to the UN, stated, “The Security Council resolution prohibits any launch that contributes to the development of ballistic missile technology, regardless of success.” He also remarked, “North Korea is not only violating the Security Council resolution but almost mocking it.”
Additionally, he provided insight into the government’s decision to suspend part of the 9·19 agreement, explaining, “South Korea can no longer sit idly by with its hands tied, as North Korea is even enhancing its reconnaissance capabilities with this launch.”
Ambassador Hwang emphasized, “North Korea’s provocative behavior is no longer a regional issue but a global issue that directly affects everywhere in the world,” and added, “We need to act firmly before it’s too late. All member countries must fully comply with the relevant Security Council resolutions.”
The meeting ended after just over two hours without any visible results, with the permanent members China and Russia also siding with North Korea, quoting North Korea’s claims verbatim.
By. Yoon Hong Woo
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