New York, SAEDNEWS, Feb. 8: The report by independent sanctions monitors said Pyongyang "produced fissile material, maintained nuclear facilities and upgraded its ballistic missile infrastructure" while continuing to seek material and technology for those programs from abroad.
The annual report to the Security Council's North Korea sanctions committee comes just weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden took office.
A State Department spokesperson said on Monday the administration planned a new approach to North Korea, including a full review with allies "on ongoing pressure options and the potential for any future diplomacy."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and former U.S. President Donald Trump met three times in 2018 and 2019, but failed to make progress on U.S. calls for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons and North Korea's demands for an end to sanctions.
In the past year, North Korea displayed new short-range, medium-range, submarine-launched and intercontinental ballistic missile systems at military parades, the U.N. report said.
The U.N. report said an unnamed member state had assessed that, judging by the size of North Korea's missiles, "it is highly likely that a nuclear device" could be mounted on to long-range, medium-range and short-range ballistic missiles.
"The Member State, however, stated it is uncertain whether the DPRK had developed ballistic missiles resistant to the heat generated during re-entry," into the atmosphere, the report said. North Korea's formal name is Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
While there were no nuclear or ballistic missile tests in 2020, Pyongyang "announced preparation for testing and production of new ballistic missile war heads and development of tactical nuclear weapons."
North Korea's U.N. mission in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report (Source: France 24).
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