South Korea and other countries voiced serious concerns and criticism of North Korea’s transfers of ballistic missiles to Russia at a session of the UN Conference on Disarmament.

Yoon Seong-mee, South Korean Ambassador to the UN office in Geneva, told the session on Friday that the North’s export of ballistic missiles is a blatant violation of UN Security Council(UNSC) resolutions.

Yoon said that this illegal transfer of weapons affects the security of the Korean Peninsula and the international community, vowing to closely monitor what is exchanged in the transaction.

Citing the firing of hundreds of artillery rounds near the maritime border early in the year, numerous ballistic missile launches in violation of UNSC resolutions, and threats of a preemptive nuclear strike or additional nuclear tests, Yoon said the North’s actions do not facilitate the resumption of dialogue.

Bruce Turner, Ambassador to the U.S. mission to the Conference, also expressed serious concerns about Pyongyang’s ballistic missile launches at an unprecedented speed and its arms exports to Moscow.

Representatives of Ukraine and the European Union also issued condemnations of the arms trade, while Japan's representative expressed concern about North Korea's intensifying efforts for nuclear development and urged the regime to comply with the Security Council resolutions.