Russia鈥檚 procurement and use of weapons from the DPRK violates UN Security Council Resolutions: joint statement
Joint statement鈥痓y the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Malta, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Ukraine, and the United States.
On December 30, 2023, January 2, 2024, and January 6, 2024, the Russian Federation launched several waves of devastating aerial attacks against Ukraine, killing dozens of people and injuring hundreds more. These heinous attacks were conducted, in part, using ballistic missiles and ballistic missile launchers procured from the Democratic People鈥檚 Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The export of these weapons from the DPRK to Russia blatantly violates multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit UN Member States from procuring arms or related materiel from the DPRK and prohibit the DPRK from exporting arms or related materiel. 鈥疷N Security Council resolutions also prohibit the DPRK鈥檚 development of ballistic missile programs. These violations lead to further suffering of the Ukrainian people, support Russia鈥檚 brutal war of aggression, and undermine the global nonproliferation regime.
Each violation makes the world a much more dangerous place.鈥€疉nd a permanent Security Council member that willingly engages in these violations demonstrates a clear exploitation of its position.
All UN Member States have the responsibility to uphold the UN Charter and to abide by Security Council resolutions. France, Japan, Malta, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States strongly condemn the DPRK鈥檚 and Russia鈥檚 Security Council resolution violations and call upon the DPRK and Russia to immediately cease any unlawful arms transfers and faithfully implement these resolutions. We encourage all Council Members to join us in this call during the Security Council meeting today. 鈥疻e also urge the DPRK to abandon its unlawful nuclear and ballistic programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner, and to engage instead in dialogue.
Our governments have signed a joint statemen condemning in the strongest possible terms these arms transfers, as well as Russia鈥檚 use of these arms against Ukraine, and we will continue to work with allies and partners to identify, expose, and counter any such arms transfers in defense of international peace and security.