UN security council to discuss North Korea tomorrow after ICBM launch

The United Nations Security Council will discuss North Korea in a meeting tomorrow at the request of the US after Pyongyang tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the US mainland.

A statement from the US mission to the UN said the 15-member Security Council has a responsibility to protect global peace and security and the non-proliferation regime and to uphold its own resolutions.

"We urge all security council members to take this responsibility seriously and unite in condemning the DPRK’s dangerous and unlawful behaviour," it said referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name.

"Relevant security council resolutions must be fully implemented, and the DPRK must be held accountable for violating them," it added.

A senior US administration official said earlier that North Korea's latest missile test earlier on Friday was of a type that "can hit many, many countries."

The official said Washington was in regular contact with China, which along with Russia has blocked recent US efforts to strengthen UN sanctions on North Korea over its missile tests.

North Korea's state media said the country's leader Kim Jong Un oversaw Friday's launch and pledged to counter US nuclear threats with nuclear weapons.

Friday's launch came after US President Joe Biden met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday and said Beijing has an obligation to try to talk North Korea out of resuming nuclear testing, while adding that it was unclear whether China would be able to sway Pyongyang.

China and Russia backed toughened sanctions after North Korea's last nuclear test in 2017, but in May both vetoed a US-led push for more UN penalties over its renewed ballistic missile launches.

Washington has accused China and Russia of enabling North Korea's weapons programmes by failing to enforce existing sanctions.

US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told a regular briefing on Friday that China "has a responsibility to make clear to the DPRK that Pyongyang should not engage in unlawful nuclear or ballistic missile tests."

- Reuters