Delivered by: Ameirah AlHefeiti, Deputy Permanent Representative and Acting Chargé d’Affaires

UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION

Check against delivery.

Madam President,

I thank Assistant Secretary-General, Mr. Khaled El-Khiari, for his valuable briefing.

The UAE joins the Secretary-General in his strong condemnation of the latest attempt by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to launch a military reconnaissance satellite this week, after the DPRK made a similar attempt in May. These events constitute a source of grave concern and a dangerous escalation in the Korean Peninsula.

We also express our concerns at the advice from DPRK’s official media that the DPRK would conduct yet another launch, after the failure of the ballistic missile carrying the satellite. We take this opportunity to remind that the Security Council has prohibited DPRK from any launches using ballistic missile technology. We therefore strongly urge the DPRK to cease its illegal, dangerous, and provocative activities.

In the context of today’s meeting, the UAE would like to stress the following three points:

First, the DPRK must stop terrorizing civilians in neighboring countries through its repeated launches. In this context, we stress that the one pre-launch notification issued by the relevant authorities in the DPRK did not give any legitimacy to these operations. It is regrettable that civilians in the Okinawa region of Japan had to deal with warning alarms at 4 a.m. caused by the dangerous and illegal actions of the DPRK. We reaffirm our solidarity with the governments and peoples of these countries and with the entire region.

Second, the Council should send a unified message to the DPRK stressing it must comply with Security Council resolutions and stop conducting such missile tests.

We reiterate our call to the DPRK to return to diplomacy and dialogue. A path to complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization, including a return to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only way for the DPRK and the international community to achieve peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.

Third, it is necessary to continue to pay attention to the dire and alarming humanitarian conditions in which the people of the DPRK live. While the exemption mechanism utilised by the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1718 allows the delivery of aid to DPRK, the grave situation on the ground requires those concerned in the DPRK to prioritize the interests of the people and take measures to alleviate their suffering, including by allowing UN humanitarian organizations to return to the country to provide humanitarian relief assistance.

In conclusion, Madam President, the Security Council has always been more effective in maintaining international peace and security when it stands together, especially on the Korean Peninsula when it took a unified stance to curb the DPRK’s illegal pursuit of nuclear weapons. The UAE is fully prepared to discuss ways to unify the position on this file again to enable the Council to play its role in maintaining international peace and security.

Thank you, Madame President.