US leads 10 nations in urging Security Council action on North Korea

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US led 10 other nations in denouncing on Monday North Korea's weekend launch of a ballistic missile in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions, calling on the UN Security Council to take action.

"While the DPRK escalates its destabilizing actions, the Security Council continues to remain silent," Albania, Australia, Brazil, France, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, the UK and the US said in a joint statement.

"Each ballistic missile launch that results in inaction by the Council erodes the credibility of the UN Security Council itself in addressing the DPRK and undermines the global non-proliferation regime," they added, using an acronym to refer to North Korea.

North Korea fired on Saturday an apparent ballistic missile that flew roughly 270 kilometers (168 miles) at a height of 550 kilometers (342 miles), according to the South Korean military.

The launch is the eleventh this year, according to the countries that issued their joint statement. The nations called on Security Council members to "implement fully all" of the council's resolutions on North Korea, emphasizing that they "obligate the DPRK to abandon its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner."

The council is expected on Monday to hold a closed-door session to address North Korea's missile launches.