Overview

• South Korea has urged the U.N. Security Council to address North Korea's escalating missile tests and threats, following North Korea's first ballistic missile test in 2024.
• The Security Council has previously imposed sanctions on North Korea to curb its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but these have been unsuccessful so far.
• North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, has declared that North Korea will abandon its commitment to a peaceful unification with South Korea and has threatened to annihilate the South with nuclear weapons if provoked.
• China and Russia, both veto-wielding permanent council members, have blocked any council action since they vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions on North Korea.
• Regional tensions have been raised to their highest point in years due to North Korea's escalating test-launches and threats.