US calls on UN Security Council to hold meeting over latest North Korea missile test

Just days after North Korea launched its seventh weapons test in January — and apparently its longest missile test since 2017 — the U.S. called on the United Nations Security Council to hold a meeting Thursday to discuss North Korea’s latest move.

The Associated Press reported that the test launch of the intermediate-range ballistic missile was confirmed by North Korea, which noted its travel capabilities to hit the U.S. territory of Guam.  

The missile traveled 800 kilometers until it landed in the sea, reaching a peak height of 2,000 kilometers, according to the South Korean and Japanese militaries, the news wire noted.

Officials from the White House view the goal as sanction relief and see the missile launches as provocative moves by North Korea that have only caused more concern, the AP reported. 

A spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations confirmed to The Hill that it is seeking a Thursday closed consultation meeting from the U.N. Security Council.

The 15-member council last met days following North Korea’s hypersonic missile launch, though the AP noted that no actions were taken following the mid-January meeting.

In mid-January, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged North Korea to engage with the U.S. over its ballistic missile launches, which he called “profoundly destabilizing.”

“Some months ago, we made clear that we were prepared to engage the North Koreans, to sit down with no preconditions, to see if we could find a way forward with them at the table toward the total denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” he said during an MSNBC interview.

“Unfortunately, not only has there been no response to those overtures, but the response we’ve seen, as you pointed out, in recent weeks has been renewed missile tests, something that is profoundly destabilizing.” 

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment. 

— Updated Feb. 2 at 10:02 a.m.