The UN Sanctions Committee in charge of North Korea, bringing together the 15 member countries of the Security Council, asked its group of UN experts on Friday (March 26) to investigate the North Korean missile fire on Thursday, according to diplomats.
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The request was made during a closed-door meeting of the Committee, urgently requested by the United States on Thursday after the shots fired by Pyongyang.
"
The Committee's conclusion was to call on the UN group of experts to investigate the missile fire as a first step,
" a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.
For the rest, "
we are looking at what is possible,
" said another diplomat, also on condition of anonymity, about the possibility for the Security Council to organize a meeting on the latest North Korean fire.
There was "
a general feeling of concern
" expressed during the Committee meeting, he added.
On Friday, during a vote, the UN Security Council also adopted a resolution extending until April 30, 2022 the mandate of the UN experts responsible for monitoring the application of the various sets of heavy economic sanctions. towards Pyongyang.
These have been imposed on North Korea in recent years at the initiative of Washington.
The resolution, adopted unanimously by the 15 members of the Council, according to diplomats, demands from the expert group a progress report by August 3, 2021 and a final document by January 28, 2022 at the latest.
A new model of "
guided tactical projectile
"
The renewal of the experts' mandate was due to expire and is not linked to the latest North Korean missile attacks.
In the midst of the crisis, its adoption however benefited from the support of China and Russia, which in 2020 had called for an easing of the international sanctions imposed on North Korea.
Aimed at halting North Korea's ballistic and nuclear weapons programs, the sanctions relate in particular to North Korean imports of oil and its exports of coal, textiles and fishing.
On Friday, Pyongyang announced that the firing carried out the day before, and which earned it a warning from Washington, was that of a new model of "
tactical guided projectile
".
Two examples of this projectile with a solid fuel engine were fired, and testing could violate UN resolutions.