Germany, France and the UK strongly condemn the DPRK’s provocative actions

So we are speaking now in our national capacities.

Germany, France and the United Kingdom remain deeply concerned by the continued testing of ballistic missiles by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including the recent missile launches of 31 October. Since May, the DPRK has conducted 12 sets of launches of ballistic missiles, including what appears to be a medium-range missile launched from under water. We strongly condemn these provocative actions, which undermine regional security and stability and are in clear violation of unanimously adopted UN Security Council resolutions. The decisions of the Security Council are clear: the DPRK is under the obligation to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

We urge the DPRK to engage in good faith in meaningful negotiations with the United States and to take concrete steps with a view to abandoning all weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. There is no other way to achieve security and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Meanwhile, it is vital that the Security Council upholds its resolutions and that sanctions should remain in place. We call on the international community to comply with the obligation to strictly enforce these sanctions, including by repatriating to the DPRK all DPRK nationals earning income in Member States’ jurisdiction immediately but no later than 22 December 2019, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2397.
We reiterate that the current humanitarian situation in the DPRK is the result of the misallocation of resources and restrictions by the DPRK government imposes on humanitarian actors. We call on the DPRK to address food shortages by prioritizing the well-being of its own people over the development of its WMD and ballistic missile programmes.

Thank you very much.