Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japan and the rest of the G7 nations on Sunday condemned North Korea’s launch of “yet another Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), which undermines regional and international peace and security.”

The G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union responded in unison “in the strongest possible terms” after the launch of the missile by North Korea on March 16 .

“We reiterate our demand that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, and any other weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner and fully comply with all obligations under the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions,” the G7 foreign ministers statement said.

It also said that North Korea “will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon state” and once again urged it to engage in meaningful diplomacy toward denuclearization.

The ministers added: “We deeply regret to see the stark contrast between the frequency of North Korea’s repeated blatant violations of UNSCRs and the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) corresponding inaction because of some members’ obstruction. North Korea’s reckless behavior demands a swift and unified response by the international community, including further significant measures by the UNSC.”

While calling on UN Member States to “effectively implement” all UNSCRs and terming North Korea as “irresponsible and destabilizing,” the G7 said it also remains concerned about the dire humanitarian situation in North Korea.