North Korea and Russia sparred with the United States, South Korea and their allies at an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Pyongyang’s new intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
North Korean Ambassador to the UN Kim Song said that the past year has become the “most dangerous year” in terms of military security on the Korean Peninsula.
He pointed to increased U.S.-South Korean military exercises and the United States’ deployment of nuclear submarines in the area.
The United States and nine allies recalled that North Korea has launched five ICBMs, more than 25 ballistic missiles and three satellites using ballistic missile technology this year.
They noted that this violates numerous UN Security Council resolutions and threatens “the peace and stability of its neighbors and the international community.”
Before the council meeting, US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood, surrounded by diplomats from other countries, read a joint statement from ten countries condemning the December 17 launch of North Korean ICBMs and previous launches.
The Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea after its first nuclear test in 2006 and has tightened them over the years.
A total of ten resolutions were adopted, aimed – so far unsuccessfully – at reducing funding and limiting nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
The latest sanctions resolution was adopted by the Security Council in December 2017.
In May 2022, China and Russia vetoed a US resolution that would have imposed new sanctions in connection with a series of ICBM launches.
Since then, Moscow and Beijing have blocked any action by the council, including statements to the media.
Ten countries – Albania, Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, South Korea, Slovenia, Switzerland, the UK and the US – said the Security Council’s silence “sends the wrong signal to Pyongyang and all non-proliferation violators.”
They called on North Korea to abandon its illegal nuclear and missile programs “and instead invest in feeding the people of North Korea” and engage in diplomatic outreach.
They also called on all members of the Security Council to break the long silence and support the nuclear non-proliferation regime.
Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Anna Evstigneeva, called attempts to condemn Pyongyang a unilateral approach and accused the United States of deploying its large-scale military machine in the region.
US Deputy Ambassador Wood countered that the US military exercises were defensive in nature and that it was North Korea, not South Korea, the US or Japan, that was violating UN sanctions.
The diplomat said that the United States has repeatedly tried to establish a dialogue with Pyongyang without preconditions, but he refused.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to the DPRK’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons, as well as its malicious cyber activities and egregious human rights violations, including kidnappings,” Wood said.
