The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries have issued a strong condemnation of North Korea's recent space rocket launch, labeling it a grave threat to regional and global peace. The statement was released following Pyongyang's launch of a rocket late Tuesday, which the regime claimed successfully placed a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the foreign ministers from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, and Japan collectively denounced the action as a violation of relevant U.N. Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs). They emphasized that any launch using ballistic missile technology, regardless of its characterization as a military reconnaissance satellite, is a clear breach of these resolutions.
The G7 ministers called for North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile programs, stating emphatically that North Korea will never be recognized as a nuclear-weapon state under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of nuclear weapons. They urged for complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and demanded that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, and other weapons of mass destruction in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner.
Additionally, the ministers called for a swift, united, and robust international response to North Korea's actions, specifically urging the U.N. Security Council to take action. They appealed to all U.N. member states to fully and effectively implement relevant UNSCRs.
The statement also highlighted concerns about arms transfers from North Korea to Russia, calling for an immediate cessation of such activities. The ministers emphasized the potential threat of any transfer of nuclear- or ballistic missile-related technology to North Korea, which would further destabilize the region and the world.
They concluded by urging North Korea to engage in meaningful diplomacy and accept the offers of dialogue from South Korea, the U.S., and Japan without preconditions.