North Korea – Missile launch (Apr. 13, 2023)

France condemns in the strongest possible terms the launch, on April 13, of a long-range ballistic missile, which represents a serious threat to regional stability and international security.

This latest violation of UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from proceeding with any type of launch incorporating technologies used in ballistic missiles calls for a strong, united response from the international community.

The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs will once again assure the South Korean and Japanese authorities of France’s solidarity in the wake of this latest provocation during her visit to North Korea and Japan from April 14 to 18.

France urges North Korea to comply with its obligations without delay and to engage in a process leading to the complete, verifiable, irreversible discontinuation of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. We are mobilizing all our efforts, together with our European and international partners, to ensure the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions.

Democratic Republic of the Congo – Continued emergency aid to Goma with the EU

In the face of the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a plane carrying humanitarian aid will arrive today in Goma as part of the EU airlift.

In keeping with the pledge President Macron made in Kinshasa on March 4, France is continuing to contribute to this airlift through the mobilization of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs’ Crisis and Support Center (CDCS), which had already coordinated on the humanitarian aid shipped in the first plane, which arrived on March 10. In total, four flights have transported some 140 tons of aid to the DRC, including medicines, shelters for people displaced by fighting, hygiene kits and nutritional supplements. The UN, NGOs, the Tulipe association and the Nutriset company also contributed to these shipments.

France also provided €34 million in humanitarian aid via the UN and NGOs on the ground; €20 million of that was dedicated to meeting the critical needs of the most vulnerable populations in Goma and its surroundings in such areas as water access and sanitation, food security and nutrition, the fight against maternal and newborn mortality, and assistance to displaced persons. France will continue to provide support for populations in the DRC who are affected by this crisis.