UNITED NATIONS, August 29 – After North Korea submitted a letter to the UN Security Council about the joint US - South Korea military exercised (Inner City Press put it online here), North Korea fired a missile right over Japan's Hokkaido island. Now on August 29, there is an emergency UN Security Council meeting - and set for reading out and adoption in the Council chamber at 7:30 pm, this Presidential Statement:
DRAFT PRST FOR DPRK AUGUST 28 LAUNCH OVER JAPAN
The Security Council strongly condemns the August 28 2017 (local time) ballistic missile launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) that flew over Japan, as well as the multiple ballistic missile launches it conducted on 25 August 2017. The Security Council further condemns the DPRK for its outrageous actions and threats against another UN Member State, and demands that the DPRK immediately cease all such actions. The Security Council stresses that these DPRK actions are not just a threat to the region, but to all UN Member States.The Security Council expresses its grave concern that the DPRK is, by conducting such a launch over Japan as well as its recent actions and public statements, deliberately undermining regional peace and stability and have caused grave security concerns around the world.The Security Council, resolute in its commitment to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, emphasizes the vital importance of immediate, concrete actions by the DPRK to reduce tensions in the Korean Peninsula and beyond. The Security Council demands that the DPRK not proceed with any further launches using ballistic missile technology and comply with resolutions 1695 (2006), 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013), 2270 (2016), 2321 (2016), 2356 (2017), and 2371 (2017), as well as the statements of its President of 6 October 2006 (S/PRST/2006/41), 13 April 2009 (S/PRST/2009/7) and 16 April 2012 (S/PRST/2012/13), by suspending all activities related to its ballistic missile programme and in this context re-establish its pre-existing commitments to a moratorium on missile launches. The Security Council further demands that the DPRK immediately comply fully with all of its other obligations under all relevant Security Council resolutions, including that it shall: abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, and immediately cease all related activities; not conduct any further nuclear tests or any further provocation; and abandon any other existing weapons of mass destruction in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner. The Security Council calls on all states to strictly, fully, and expeditiously implement all relevant Security Council resolutions including 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013), 2270 (2016), 2321 (2016), 2356 (2017), and 2371 (2017). The Security Council reiterates the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in North-East Asia at large, expresses its commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the situation, and welcomes efforts by Council members, as well as other States, to facilitate a peaceful and comprehensive solution through dialogue.”" Earlier, French Deputy Ambassador Gueguen read a statement but did not answer any questions, as she previously declined to answer on Togo killing protesters, when asked by Inner City Press. Japan's Ambassador Koro Bessho said the first order of business will be to make sure Council members are all on the same page; he declined to answer if Japan will ask for an oil embargo. There is talk of "elements to the press" today, something more formal later in the week, perhaps on the UN's Eid holiday on August 31. On their way in, Nikki Haley conferred with UK Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, who then came to the stakeout with a statement, also on Myanmar, saying the August 30 meeting agreed to will "shine a spotlight." Inner City Press asked, So an open meeting? It was not answered. Periscope here. On the morning of August 29, US Ambassador Nikki Haley stopped at the Security Council stakeout and said, as to North Korea, "Enough is enough." Alamy photos here. UK Deputy Ambassador Jonathan Allen said that he didn't want to prejudge the meeting, but that the entire world condemns North Korea's action. (This included, however belatedly, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, or at least his Associate Spokesperson. Under Guterres, the UN World Intellectual Property Organization has helped North Korea with cyanide patent(s), as Inner City Press aske Nikki Haley about, see below.) Late on August 28, Inner City Press ran to the UN Security Council stakeout and raised a Periscope video, here. Japan's Ambassador Koro Bessho said We are still gathering facts, at this time, I have nothing to say. Egypt's Ambassador, President of the UN Security Council for August, emerged and said there has been no request for an emergency meeting, yet. Inner City Press asked him a question, here (Alamy photos here); Egyptian state media Akhbar al Yom, to which the UN is trying to give Inner City Press' long time UN work space, was not even present. Now Japan has announced, "#NorthKorea's #ballisticmissile launch - @JapanMissionUN @USUN & @ROK_Mission have just requested urgent @UN #UNSC consultations. #DPRK." It will be late Tuesday, whenever the previously scheduled Egyptian debate on peacekeeping ends. Now the White House has issued this read-out: "President Donald J. Trump spoke yesterday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to address North Korea’s launch of a missile that overflew Japanese territory. The two leaders agreed that North Korea poses a grave and growing direct threat to the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, as well as to countries around the world. President Trump and Prime Minister Abe committed to increasing pressure on North Korea, and doing their utmost to convince the international community to do the same." Watch this site. After North Korea's most recent missiles, the EU said, "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) today launched a number of short range ballistic missiles. Such actions violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions and seriously undermine regional peace and stability. The DPRK must halt all launches using ballistic missile technology and abandon its ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, as required by the UN Security Council. There is an urgent need for a de-escalation of tensions on the situation on the Korean Peninsula. We expect the DPRK to refrain from further provocations and to immediately re-engage in a credible and meaningful dialogue with the international community aimed at pursuing the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation through peaceful means. The European Union supports such a process in consultation with key partners." Meanwhile the chair of the UN Security Council 1718 Committee, Sebastiano Cardi of Italy, told Inner City Press DPRK arms sales to Syria and/or the UAE was not discussed in his August 25 meeting. Vine Camera video here. The UN Security Council on Saturday August 5 met and adopted new sanctions, including a ban on the export of seafood, iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore. On the evening of August 4 the UN itself allow North Korea to censor an art exhibit in its lobby (exclusive Inner City Press coverage here), at an event attended by (former?) US Mission to the UN spokesperson Kurtis Cooper. On August 8, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), top Democrat on the East Asia Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that “a miniature nuclear warhead in North Korea is a massive and unacceptable threat to the United States... We need a coherent and comprehensive strategy from the Trump administration that focuses on immediate direct diplomacy and increased economic pressure, along with military deterrence with regional allies to confront this grave national security threat. Last weekend, the United Nations Security Council imposed sweeping new sanctions to slash North Korea’s exports by upwards of $1 billion. The UN took an important step, but... President Trump must work to start direct and immediate talks with North Korea. We cannot afford to wait any longer. The consequences of inaction are too great.” We'll have more on this. In other UN censorship news, while Inner City Press remains under restriction, the Egyptian state media the UN is trying to give its office to didn't even come in, with Egypt as Security Council president. The UN was asked but would not explain this absurdity. On August 4 Inner City Press notice a sign outside windowless UN Conference Room A, of a "Mission of the United States of America: Security Council Experts Meeting [Closed]," to begin at 11 am. Photo here. Inner City Press staked it out, but no one went into the room at that time. Nevertheless by the afternoon a lone Security "Council diplomat" was spoon-feeding Reuters that on Saturday, with a high likelihood, the Council would ban exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood. Seafood! What about the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization's work on North Korea's cyancide patent?
