UNSC to vote on N.Korea sanctions on Thursday

Seoul, May 26 The UN Security Council (UNSC) is set to vote on Thursday on a US-led resolution to impose additional sanctions on North Korea for its recent ballistic missile launches.

A related session will be held in New York on Thursday, Yonhap News Agency quoted diplomats as saying amid a view that China and Russia, the veto-wielding members of the Council, will likely vote against strengthening sanctions against Pyongyang.

The US government has called on the international community to join in condemning the North's latest missile launches, describing them as a threat to the region and the entire world.

North Korea fired three ballistic missiles, including an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), on Wednesday.

The launches marked the 17th of their kind this year, North Korea has conducted at least three known ICBM tests since the start of the year.

North Korea last conducted a nuclear test in September 2017. The country dismantled its key nuclear test site in Punggye-ri in 2018 to show its willingness to denuclearize.

Officials in Seoul, however, have said the North appears to have completed "all preparations" for a nuclear test.

North Korea has avoided any dialogue with the US since late 2019.

It has also ignored all US overtures since the Joe Biden administration took office in January 2021.

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