By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – North Korea is set to make a rare statement during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Thursday, which was called over Pyongyang’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
North Korea requested to speak at the meeting of the 15-member body and Great Britain – as council president for July – intends to grant it, said Mungo Woodifield, spokesperson for Britain’s U.N. mission in New York.
The council meeting was requested by the United States, Albania, France, Japan, Malta and Britain.
North Korea – formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) – has been under U.N. sanctions for its missile and nuclear programs since 2006. This includes a ban on the development of ballistic missiles.
North Korea on Wednesday tested its latest Hwasong-18 ICBM, state media reported, saying the weapon is the core of its nuclear strike force and as a warning to the United States and other adversaries.
The Hwasong-18 is the North’s first ICBM to use solid propellants, which can allow faster deployment of missiles during a war. It was first flown in April.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Mark Porter)
