IMO adopts first-ever resolution condemning N. Korea's missile launches

All News 09:21 June 01, 2023

LONDON/SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- The International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a resolution strongly condemning North Korea's missile tests for the first time earlier this week, in a clear message to the reclusive country against its escalating provocations.

The resolution, adopted at the 107th session of the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) in London on Wednesday (local time), denounced the launches as a serious threat to the safety of international navigation and urged compliance with due regulations, including giving prior notice ahead of any missile tests.

In a press release, South Korea's foreign ministry stressed that it marks the first time the committee handling maritime safety issues has adopted a resolution on the North's missile provocations, though it has condemned the tests previously.

North Korea has escalated its saber-rattling recently, launching what it claimed to be a "space launch vehicle" allegedly carrying a military reconnaissance satellite earlier this week.

This photo provided by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on June 1, 2023, shows the launch of the North's new Chollima-1 rocket, allegedly carrying a military reconnaissance satellite, Malligyong-1, from Tongchang-ri on the North's west coast at 6:29 a.m. the previous day. The projectile fell into waters some 200 kilometers west of the South's southwestern island of Eocheong following its flight over the waters far west of the border island of Baengnyeong. In just about 2 1/2 hours after the launch, the North confirmed its failure, citing the "abnormal starting of the second-stage engine." (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Official documents adopted by the IMO are classified into resolutions, circulars and decisions, with resolutions considered as the most powerful recommendations to its member states, according to the ministry.

Previously, the MSC has adopted circulars expressing grave concerns over Pyongyang's continued missile launches without prior notification to the IMO in 1998, 2006 and 2016.

The resolution is not legally binding but offers its recommendation of maritime affairs as guidelines to IMO member countries, stepping up the international community's pressure on the North.

The IMO, headquartered in London, is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping.

julesyi@yna.co.kr
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