S/2017/128 - Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea on the ballistic missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on 12Feb17.

United Nations
Security Council

S/2017/128

Distr.: General
13 February 2017
Original: English

Letter dated 12 February 2017 from the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

I have the honour of bringing the attention of the Security Council to the launch of a ballistic missile by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on 12 February 2017 (local time) and enclosing herewith the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea on the launch (see annex).

I should be grateful if you would circulate the present letter and its annex as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Cho Tae-yul
Permanent Representative

Annex to the letter dated 12 February 2017 from the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the ballistic missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on 12 February 2017

1. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted a ballistic missile launch on 12 February. It is the first ballistic missile launch by DPRK this year, which came after its launches of 24 ballistic missiles in 2016, constituting a flagrant and clear violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions and a grave threat to peace and security on the Korean peninsula and to the international community as a whole. The Government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) condemns the provocation of DPRK in the strongest terms.

2. The repeated provocations by DPRK pose a direct challenge to the united resolve of the international community manifested in the unanimously adopted Security Council resolution 2321 (2016). They also clearly demonstrate the unreasonable nature of the Kim Jong Un regime that is fanatically obsessed with the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, just as shown in the New Year address, in which it had threatened to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles.

3. The routinized provocations of DPRK will serve to further strengthen the international community's resolve for the denuclearization of DPRK. By faithfully implementing sanctions against DPRK, including Security Council resolution 2321 (2016), along with friendly countries' strong unilateral sanctions, the Government of ROK will make DPRK realize that it will never survive unless it abandons all nuclear and missile programmes.

4. Furthermore, the Government of ROK will unwaveringly protect the lives of its people and the security of the nation against any threat from DPRK, while deterring the nuclear and missile threats of DPRK, based on the strong ROK-US combined defense posture, including by increasing the executive nature of extended deterrence.

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13Feb17

Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea on the ballistic missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on 12Feb17