November 29, 2017, New York – The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting in response to North Korea's launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), at which all Council members strongly condemned, in no uncertain terms, the third launch of an ICBM within the span of just the last six months.

The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Mr Jeffrey Feltman, informed the Council that the North Korean missile “Hwasong-15” was a considerably improved and updated model of ICBMs with a range of up to 13,000 kilometers, with the ability to reach the territory of the United States. He also stressed that over the past two years, nuclear tests and rocket launches conducted by Pyongyang led to serious tension on the Korean peninsula and beyond. “Given the grave risks associated with any military confrontation, in exercise of its primary responsibility, the Security Council needs to do all it can to prevent an escalation. Unity in the Security Council is critical,” warned USG Feltman.

Ambassador Kairat Umarov, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Nations and representing the country as an elected member of the Council, expressed extreme concern about this latest provocative missile launch by Pyongyang. According to the Kazakh delegation, this launch runs counter to the demands of the international community and gravely violates all relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. Such further provocations would only generate even greater confrontation and spur a new wave of escalations with untold consequences. At the same time, according to Kazakhstan, he indicated that there is no alternative to a peaceful solution to the North Korean crisis, and the stalemate can only be overcome through negotiations, dialogue and goodwill by all parties.

"We must avoid sliding down the military path. We need to focus on finding possible political and diplomatic measures to resolve the issue. Therefore, Astana stands for the tireless search for a comprehensive and collective solution of the issue through new decisive political and diplomatic actions. It is only through meaningful communication and collective deliberations, accompanied by confidence-building measures, that we will be able to find a way out of this very complex situation," Ambassador Umarov said.

The meeting concluded with Security Council reaffirming the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, and also its commitment to search for political and diplomatic paths, accompanied by the effective implementation of all previous sanctions measures against Pyongyang.