US calls UN Security Council’s silence on North Korea ‘dangerous’

The United States on Monday called on the UN Security Council to condemn North Korean ballistic missile launches and call on Pyongyang to participate in diplomatic talks, warning that the failure of the 15-nation Security Council to meet the challenges became dangerous.
China and Russia oppose any Security Council action on Pyongyang, arguing that further pressure on North Korea would be “unconstructive”. Last May, Moscow and Beijing vetoed a US move to impose additional UN sanctions on North Korea.
“The reality is that those protecting the DPRK from the consequences of its escalating missile tests are putting the Asian region and the whole world at risk of conflict,” said the US permanent representative to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
“The Council’s inaction is not only shameful. It’s dangerous,” Thomas-Greenfield told a meeting of the UN Security Council, proposing to adopt an official statement condemning North Korea’s actions and calling for diplomacy.
These statements should be approved by consensus. The Council last took action against North Korea when it adopted a resolution in December 2017 to tighten sanctions against Pyongyang’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.
China’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Dai Bing, said the council’s repeated meetings and calls for additional sanctions against North Korea “do not embody a constructive role in calming the situation and do not bring no new ideas to help solve the problem”.
“Pursuing and piling up the sanctions will only lead to a dead end,” Dai said. “China sincerely hopes for stability, not chaos on the peninsula. China urges all parties to exercise calm and restraint.”
The Security Council convened on Monday after North Korea fired two more ballistic missiles and leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister said Pyongyang’s use of the Pacific as a ‘firing ground’ would depend on behavior American troops.
Monday’s launches came just days after North Korea launched an ICBM at sea off the coast of Japan, prompting the United States to hold joint air drills with South Korea and separate drills with South Korea on Sunday. Japan.
After the meeting of the Security Council, two-thirds of the members of this body and South Korea issued a joint statement, read by Thomas-Greenfield, in which they condemned the missile launches carried out by North Korea.