This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says is the test launch of the new “Hwasong-19” intercontinental ballistic missile at an undisclosed site in North Korea on October 31. (AP)

UN, Nov 6, (AP): A US-led statement endorsed by 10 of the 15-member UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned a recent North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile launch and called on Pyongyang to return to negotiations and abandon its missile programs. The statement follows a series of recent North Korean missile launches, including Thursday’s test of the country’s newest ICBM, designed to reach the United States.

The 10 members of the Security Council said the launch – in addition to North Korea’s more than 100 ballistic missiles by 2022 – violates several Security Council resolutions that prohibit the North from using ballistic missile technology and endangers international peace and security . Foreign ministers of wealthy Group of Seven democracies also condemned last week’s launch in a statement on Tuesday, saying North Korea “continues to advance its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and intensify its destabilizing activities”.

The G7 is Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. At the United Nations, US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood read the statement to reporters surrounded by diplomats from nine other signatory nations – Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

They were joined by representatives from three countries that will join the council in January – Denmark, Greece and Panama. Five Security Council nations did not support the statement – Russia, China, Algeria, Mozambique and Guyana. In the statement, the 10 council members said the United States had sought the necessary approval of all 15 council members for a press statement condemning the ICBM test and calling on North Korea to adhere to the Security Council’s binding legal sanctions.

But the statement said two countries – identified by council members as North Korea’s allies Russia and China – refused to join in denouncing Pyongyang’s actions. The 10 members emphasized that all nations on the council have an obligation to implement sanctions against North Korea, urging all nations on the Security Council to uphold this responsibility, maintain international peace and security, and uphold the nuclear non-proliferation treaty .