A+ A-

Tillerson to chair UN meeting on N. Korea - Toner

WASHINGTON, April 24 (KUNA) -- US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will chair a special ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council in New York April 28 to address the North Korean missile threat, it was announced Monday.
"This meeting will give the Security Council members an opportunity to discuss ways to maximize the impact of existing Security Council measures and to show their resolve to respond to further provocations with appropriate new measures," State Department Acting Spokesperson Mark Toner told reporters.
North Korea, he added, "poses one of the gravest threats to international peace and security through its pursuing of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction, as well as its other prohibited activities." Tillerson is expected to send the message that "there are already very strong sanctions in place against North Korea and it is incumbent on every member of the UN to enforce those sanctions to the upmost," Toner said.
"I think what's very clear is that they're pursuing a nuclear ballistic capability and continuing to carry out tests to give them that capability of reaching, not just other countries in the region, but possibly the United States," he affirmed. "(This is) why you've seen Administration officials talking so candidly about our concerns and about the fact that the time for strategic patience and that policy is over. That we have to look at real ways to provide pressure on Pyongyang". (pickup previous) ys.hb