Mr. President,
When the General Assembly passed Resolution 76/262 just over a month ago, I doubt
anyone in this room anticipated that we would be back so soon for the Assembly to exercise
its newly given mandate. While this may be a success story for the General Assembly, it
should be very clear that this is no substitute for the UN Security Council exercising its
responsibility to take action on matters relating to international peace and security.
The Federated States of Micronesia is gravely concerned by the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) nuclear and missile developments. We strongly condemn the
DPRK’s decision to launch an Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) on 24 March 2022,
which undermines the global non-proliferation regime. It also undermines the Hague Code of
Conduct and poses a clear threat to international peace and security, and presents a hazard to
everyone throughout the Asia-Pacific region and the world beyond.
We are deeply concerned about the DPRK’s utter disregard of various Security Council
resolutions. Council resolution 2397, Operative paragraph 28, which was unanimously
adopted in December of 2017, states that “if the DPRK conducts a launch of a ballistic
missile system capable of reaching intercontinental range”, then the Security Council,
through a new resolution, will take action to further restrict the export of petroleum to the
DPRK.
It is regrettable that the new UN Security Council resolution to address this violation was
vetoed in complete disregard of the Council’s own, earlier resolution. This has emboldened
the DPRK to exploit the Security Council division and just days ago pushed towards further
provocation. The prospect for reducing the possibility of a war on the Korean peninsula is
further diminished, and those with the veto power bear a heavy responsibility before this
Assembly and the world for their decisions.2
Finally, Mr. President, as a Pacific island state that understands the threat and devastating
effects of nuclear weapons, we strongly urge that all Member States continue to fully
implement existing Security Council resolutions and call for the Council to take serious and
genuine united measures against DPRK’s flagrant actions.
Thank you, Mr. President
