International Maritime Organization (IMO) Adopts Resolution Condemning the DPRK's Missile Launch

1. At its 107th session (5.31-6.9, London), the International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Maritime Safety Committee adopted a resolution strongly condemning the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for its missile launches which have continued since last year and urging the DPRK to comply with relevant IMO conventions and resolutions on May 31, local time.

2. The Maritime Safety Committee resolution was discussed as a follow-up to the Decision of the 128th session of the IMO Council. In December last year, the IMO Council decided that the Maritime Safety Committee would consider possible measures that the IMO could take against the DPRK's unlawful missile launches that pose a threat to international navigation safety.

3. The resolution adopted this time strongly condemns the DPRK's missile launch not only as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, but also as an act that seriously threatens the safety of seafarers and international shipping. It also urgently calls upon the DPRK to comply strictly with relevant IMO conventions and resolutions and stop unlawful missile launches.

4. Through this resolution, the member states also requested to establish close and cooperative relationships with relevant international organizations, including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), in order to take practicable actions to respond to the danger to international shipping lanes posed by the DPRK's repeated missile launches.

5. This is the first time that the Maritime Safety Committee, a committee under the IMO that deals with international maritime safety issues, has adopted a resolution on the DPRK's missile launch.

6. In 1998, 2006, and 2016, the Maritime Safety Committee adopted three circulars expressing concern over missile launches without prior notification by the DPRK.

7. Meanwhile, in the discussion held ahead of the adoption of the resolution today, a number of member states condemned the DPRK for its latest launch of a long-range ballistic missile under the pretext of a "satellite" launch as a serious violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and an act that threatens the safety of seafarers and international shipping.