G7 Foreign Ministers’ Statement On the Launch Using Ballistic Missile Technology by North Korea (22 november 2023)

We, 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, condemn in the

strongest terms North Korea’s launch using ballistic missile technology conducted on November 21,

2023. This action poses a grave threat to the peace and stability of the region and beyond. Any launch

using ballistic missile technology, even if it is characterized as a military reconnaissance satellite,

constitutes a clear, flagrant violation of relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions

(UNSCRs).

North Korea continues to expand its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and to escalate

its destabilizing activities. We reiterate our call for the complete denuclearization of the Korean

Peninsula and demand that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs,

and any other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs in a complete,

verifiable, and irreversible manner in accordance with all relevant UNSCRs. North Korea cannot and

will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon State under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons.

North Korea’s reckless action must be met with a swift, united, and robust international response,

particularly by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). We urge UNSC Members to follow through

on their commitments and call on all UN Member States to fully and effectively implement relevant

UNSCRs. In this context, we reiterate our strong condemnation on arms transfers from North Korea

to Russia, which directly violate relevant UNSCRs. We urge North Korea and Russia to abide by these

UNSCRs and immediately cease all such activities. In addition, we are deeply concerned about the

potential for any transfer of nuclear- or ballistic missile-related technology to North Korea, which

would further threaten the peace and stability of the region as well as across the globe.

We deplore North Korea’s systematic human rights violations and abuses, and its choice to prioritize

its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs over the welfare of the people in North Korea. We

continue to call on North Korea to engage in meaningful diplomacy and accept the repeated offers of

dialogue put forward by Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea without preconditions.

The G7 remains committed to working with all relevant partners toward the goal of peace and

stability on the Korean Peninsula and to upholding the international order based on the rule of law.