UNSC expresses concern over reports of NKorean missile launch

The UN Security Council is concerned about news reports of missile launch by North Korea and it is troubled by Pyongyang's failure to respect its resolutions on the issue, president of the 15-member body said today.  

The Council is concerned about reports of new missile launches by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and particularly troubled by Pyongyang's failure to respect its resolutions on the issue, Security Council president for the month of July Ugandan Ambassador Ruhakana Rugunda said.  

Briefing reporters on the agenda of the Security Council for the month of July, Rugunda said Middle East, Somalia, Honduras and Burma are other issues, which would be discussed by the council this month.  

The Council is planning an open debate on the situation in Somalia, a country, he observed, which has been in "turmoil and anarchy" for some 19 years and where the humanitarian situation continued to be grave and worrying.  

"This is a country that needs a robust international response," Rugunda said, stressing that such engagement should include support for the Transitional National Government and to help the Somali people rebuild their own country and security services.

The African Union force in Somalia, known as AMISOM, also needed support as it was operating only in some parts of the country pending further troop deployments, Rugunda said.  

Rugunda said he expects that the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would brief the Security Council on Myanmar on his return from the country.  

The Council's thematic debate, set for July 22, would focus on post-conflict peace building and Uganda's Minister for Foreign Affairs would preside, he said.  

Security Council is also expected to hold an open debate on the Middle East, which would provide an opportunity for the 15-nation body to hear the views of the wider UN members on the situation, especially since United States President Barack Obama and other world leaders had recently appointed envoys to help reinvigorate the peace process.  

The Council would like the level of participation to be as high as possible and would encourage participants to express their views on the spate of new efforts under way to jump-start the peace process, he said.