1. On November 29, local time, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Assembly approved the IMO Council’s decision document, in which the body strongly condemned the recent missile launches by North Korea and highlighted the North’s obligation to cease unlawful ballistic missile launches.

° The decision document, which had been co-sponsored by fifteen countries, including the Republic of Korea, the US and Japan, and adopted at the 29th extraordinary session of the IMO Council in London on November 24, was submitted to the Assembly of all the IMO members during its 30th session for its approval.

※ The gist of the IMO Council’s decision document approved by the IMO Assembly

- The Council “strongly condemn(s) the recent missile launches by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea which posed clear and serious danger to the safety of shipping in international trade.”
- The Council “reiterate(s) the imperative of the action to be taken by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to cease unlawful ballistic missile launches over international shipping lanes, following MSC.1/Circ.1551” (the IMO Maritime Safety Committee’s circulated document in 2016).

※ The 15 co-sponsors are the ROK, the US, Japan, Australia, the UK, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the Philippines and Spain.

2. The IMO MSC adopted and circulated decision documents regarding North Korea’s three rounds of missile launches without prior warnings in 1998, 2006 and 2016. By making the move on November 29, their first of its kind, the IMO Assembly and Council are seen to have reaffirmed the international community’s shared stern position that it does not tolerate the current situation, where North Korea, by having launched 20 missiles in 15 rounds, including the long-range ballistic missile on November 29, in 2017 alone in defiance of repeated international warnings, continues to pose a grave threat to the safety of international navigation.

3. The ROK government sternly urges North Korea to pay attention to the international community’s deep concern and warning message expressed by the series of measures taken by the IMO Assembly and Council, and to strictly comply with the provisions of the IMO conventions and resolutions regarding international maritime safety.


* unofficial translation