07.05.2025 Statement by Denmark at the UNSC briefing on DPRK

Checked Against Delivery

Thank you, Mr President,

Let me also thank ASG Khiari and Mr Byrne for their briefings.

It is clear that the DPRK remains in widespread and systematic violation of UN sanctions.

Mr President,

Since this Council last convened in late February, the DPRK’s ballistic missile launches have continued unabated.

Let there be no doubt: launches such as those on 10 March represent a clear and serious threat to regional and international peace and security.

They must stop immediately and without any preconditions.

These are in fact the very missiles – tested by countless North Korean launches – that are now raining down on Europe, bringing misery, destruction and death to civilians across Ukraine.

Just as troubling are the 4-6 million artillery shells estimated to have been shipped by the DPRK to Russia since September 2023. Transfers on this scale have, at the very least, prolonged Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine. They clearly violate the two-way arms embargo imposed by the Council on the DPRK.

Furthermore – and despite months of denials – last week we finally received confirmation of what we have already known and seen for months. That Kim Jong-Un has sent thousands of troops to fight in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. This represents a deeply troubling escalation, with serious consequences for European and global peace and security.

Colleagues,

Given North Korea and Russia’s willingness to ignore UN sanctions, how long until we see North Korean weapons – or troops – in other conflicts around the world? These flagrant violations of UN sanctions are absolutely not just a concern for the DPRK’s neighbours or Europe.

Mr President,

For all these reasons, Denmark supports the continued use of sanctions against the DPRK as a legitimate tool to pressure its regime to stop its destabilising actions. The DPRK must fulfil its international obligations, including under multiple UN Security Council Resolutions.

Let me be clear: the Security Council has already decided the DPRK must suspend all aspects of its ballistic missile programme. Resolution 1718 also decided that the DPRK shall abandon its nuclear weapons programme in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, and immediately return to the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state and be in full compliance.

The Council created the Panel of Experts as a vital source of information for the 1718 Committee to ensure the effectiveness of the sanctions imposed against the DPRK. Denmark’s deeply regrets that just one year ago - after a Russian veto - the mandate of the Panel was not renewed. Unfortunately, it has now only become easier for North Korea and others to circumvent the sanctions the Council unanimously decided to impose on it.

Denmark’s strong preference remains for the Panel to be restored. North Korea’s actions require this. Failing this, however, we have to rely on other independent sources of information – including the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, and Open Source Centre – for information that can be discussed freely and shared widely.

Finally, Mr President,

I want to recall that sanctions are not intended to negatively impact the lives of ordinary people and we remain concerned by the dire humanitarian situation and human rights record in the DPRK. That is why all genuine requests under the humanitarian exemption mechanism should be reviewed and approved.

The responsibility for this lies, of course, with the regime in Pyongyang, which prioritises acquiring advanced weapons over its people’s welfare.

Denmark urges the DPRK to allow the return of UN and other humanitarian organisations and to engage seriously with the UN’s human rights mechanisms.

Thank you.