[Title] Comment by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on the Adoption of a Resolution by the United Nations Security Council concerning North Korea's nuclear test and other activities

1. Japan highly appreciates the unanimous and prompt adoption of the robust United Nations Security Council Resolution 2375, which imposes drastically stricter sanctions measures against North Korea, in response to its sixth and largest-scale nuclear test on September 3 and other activities.

2. In disregard of strong protests and warnings from the international community, North Korea went ahead with the ballistic missile launch that flew over Japan and the nuclear test, which is suspected of being a hydrogen-bomb test and the scale of which is far larger than its previous tests. As the only country that suffered from atomic bombings during the war, it is totally unacceptable for Japan and regards this as an intolerable provocation. North Korea's provocative actions, including its nuclear test and a series of ballistic missile launches, pose unprecedented, grave and imminent threat to the peace and security of the region including Japan, and greatly undermine the peace and security of the region as well as the international community. In this context, the Resolution 2375 clearly demonstrates the international community's shared determination that the pressure against North Korea should be raised to an unprecedented, new level to urge North Korea to change its policy.

3. North Korea will not be able to depict a bright future and will increasingly isolate itself from the world, if it continues to take the present path. Japan strongly urges North Korea to comply with the relevant Security Council resolutions, including the newly adopted Resolution 2375, and to immediately demonstrate its serious will and concrete actions towards the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

4. Toward the common goal of the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Japan, as a member of the Security Council, will continue to work closely with the international community, including not only with the United States and the Republic of Korea, but also with China and Russia, to ensure the effective implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions.

5. The Resolution 2375 reiterates its deep concern for the grave hardship that the people in North Korea are subjected to in an operative clause. This demonstrates the consistent and strong concern of the international community, including the Security Council, over North Korea's human rights and humanitarian issues including the abductions issue.