The meeting, which diplomats say will take place on Wednesday, comes after Pyongyang carried out its 15th missile test this year.
The United States has requested a meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) later this week to discuss North Korea, diplomats said, as Washington presses the 15-member body to strengthen sanctions against Pyongyang.
Washington holds the presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of May and has been considering calling a meeting since late last week, diplomats said Monday.
The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. local New York time (7:00 p.m. GMT).
North Korea has increased its missile launches in recent months, conducting 15 weapons tests so far this year in a show of force that has sparked concern from the country’s neighbors and the administration of US President Joe Biden.
The last chance It was on Saturday, when Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile from a submarine.
The launch came just days before South Korea’s president-elect Yoon Suk-yeolwho has promised to take a hard line against North Korea, will be sworn in on Tuesday.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the country would like to see the Security Council vote in May to further sanction North Korea. But China and Russia, which have veto power on the council, have signaled they oppose further action.
“It’s a challenge, it’s a threat to international peace and security that the UN Security Council and its members have recognized in the past,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said. told reporters last weekabout North Korea’s test launches.
“So we’re not going to preempt any steps that the UN or the UN Security Council might take, but we do think accountability is important,” Price said.
“We believe it is vital that the international community, our allies and partners around the world, send a very clear signal to [Pyongyang] that these kinds of provocations will not be tolerated, they will not improve their strategic positioning and the world will respond accordingly.”
Another State Department official also saying on May 6 that the United States believes North Korea is “preparing its Punggye-ri test site and could be ready to test there this month.”
North Korea has been subject to UN sanctions since 2006, which the UN Security Council has steadily escalated over the years in a bid to cut off funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
The Biden administration has been pushing the United Nations take a tougher stance against North Korea for its recent missile launches, including its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test since 2017, held in March.
Washington also has urged North Korea to return to denuclearization talks, which have stalled since a 2019 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump collapsed over Pyongyang’s demands for relief from nuclear weapons. sanctions.
But North Korea has so far rejected the US proposals, accusing Washington of maintaining hostile policies such as sanctions and military exercises. last month kim promised to step forward the development of prohibited nuclear weapons.
“We will continue to take steps to strengthen and develop our nation’s nuclear capabilities at the fastest pace,” Kim said, according to a transcript published by the Korea Central News Agency.
North Korea’s nuclear weapons were “a symbol of national power” and should be diversified, he added.
Meanwhile, Biden will visit South Korea and Japan from May 20-24, a visit expected to coincide with the formal launch of a new US economic plan in the region, known as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework ( IPEF, for its acronym in English). Tokyo’s ambassador to the United States said Monday.
Koji Tomita told a virtual event organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington that japan and united states he had been working out the details of the plan, which he said needed to strike a balance between inclusion and high standards.
Asian countries are eager to boost ties with the US but have been frustrated by its delay in detailing plans for economic engagement with the region since Trump quit a regional trade pact in 2017.
A South Korean government official said Monday that the country is “positively considering” joining IPEF.
“It is included in 110 national tasks that the incoming government is considering positively,” said a Finance Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government practice.