Current:Home > StocksNorth Korea and Russia clash with US, South Korea and allies over Pyongyang’s latest missile launch -NextGenWealth
North Korea and Russia clash with US, South Korea and allies over Pyongyang’s latest missile launch
View
Date:2025-04-18 01:17:32
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — North Korea and Russia clashed with the United States, South Korea and their allies at an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting Tuesday on Pyongyang’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch, which it called “a warning counter-measure” to threats from the U.S. and other hostile forces.
North Korean Ambassador Kim Song said this is “the most dangerous year” in the military-security landscape on the Korean Peninsula, pointing to stepped up U.S.-South Korean military exercises and the U.S. deployment of nuclear-powered submarines and other nuclear assets to the area that have raised a “nuclear war danger.”
The U.S. and nine allies pointed to five North Korean ICBM launches, over 25 ballistic missiles launches and three satellite launches using ballistic missile technology this year, violating multiple Security Council resolutions and threatening “the peace and stability of its neighbors and the international community.”
In a statement read just before the council meeting by U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood, surrounded by diplomats from the other countries, the 10 countries condemned the latest ICBM launch on Dec. 18 and all launches before it.
Kim urged the international community to think about North Korea’s security concerns, calling its counter-measures an “absolutely reasonable, normal and reflective response” in exercise of its legitimate right to self-defense.
He warned the U.S. and South Korea that if they continue “with their reckless and irresponsible military threat,” North Korea’s armed forces “will never remain an onlooker to it and the provokers will be held entirely responsible for all the consequences.”
North Korea will also “continue to build up its strategic power of a more advanced type to contain and control any threat from the U.S. and its followers with immediate, overwhelming and decisive counter-measures,” Kim warned.
The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea’s first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking — so far unsuccessfully — to cut funds and curb its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The last sanctions resolution was adopted by the council in December 2017. China and Russia vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions over a spate of intercontinental ballistic missile launches. And the two veto-wielding council members have blocked any council action, including media statements, since then.
The 10 countries — Albania, Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, South Korea, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States — said silence from the Security Council “sends the wrong message to Pyongyang and all proliferators.”
They urged North Korea to abandon its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile programs, “and instead invest in feeding the people in North Korea” and engage in diplomacy. They also urged all Security Council members to overcome their prolonged silence and uphold the nuclear nonproliferation regime.
Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador Anna Evstigneeva called attempts to condemn Pyongyang “a one-sided approach.”
She warned that the situation is escalating “to a dangerous brink,” pointing to both Pyongyang and Seoul justifying their hostile moves as self-defense. And she accused the United States of deploying its massive military machine in the region, saying this looks “more and more like preparations for an offensive operation,” even though the U.S. says it has no hostile intentions.
Evstigneeva said Russia again calls for a peaceful settlement of all issues on the Korean Peninsula through political and diplomatic means “without external pressure.”
Wood, the U.S. deputy ambassador, countered that U.S. military exercises are defensive and it’s North Korea that has violated U.N. Security Council resolutions — not South Korea, Japan or the U.S. And he said the United States has tried repeatedly to have an unconditional dialogue with Pyongyang but it has refused.
veryGood! (815)
Related
- Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
- Watch: Astros' Jose Altuve strips down to argue with umpire over missed call
- Your Ultimate Acne Guide: Treat Pimples, Blackheads, Bad Breakouts, and More
- Officials identify 2 men killed in Idaho gas station explosion
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Pharrell Williams slammed as 'out of touch' after saying he doesn't 'do politics'
- A Trump Debate Comment About German Energy Policy Leaves Germans Perplexed
- Found: The Best Free People Deals Under $50, Featuring Savings Up to 92% Off & Styles Starting at Just $6
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Cher to headline Victoria's Secret Fashion Show's all-women set
Ranking
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Jimmy Carter's Grandson Shares Update on Former President Ahead of 100th Birthday
- Shop Hollister's Extra 20% Off Clearance Sale: Up to 75% Off on $4 Tops, $12 Pants & More Deals Under $25
- 80-year-old man found dead after driving around roadblock into high water
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Ulta & Sephora 1-Day Deals: 50% Off Lancome Monsieur Big Volumizing Mascara, MAC Liquid Lipstick & More
- Olight’s Latest Releases Shine Bright: A Look at the Arkfeld Ultra, Perun 3, and Baton Turbo
- Jon Gruden wants to return to coaching. Could he find spot in college football?
Recommendation
Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
This $9 Primer & Mascara Have People Asking If I’m Wearing Fake Lashes
Jean Smart, Ariana Grande, Michael Keaton among hosts for ‘SNL’ season 50
Pharrell Williams slammed as 'out of touch' after saying he doesn't 'do politics'
A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
Blue Jackets open camp amid lingering grief over death of Johnny Gaudreau
Tulane’s public health school secures major gift to expand
Woman suffers leg burns after hiking off trail near Yellowstone Park’s Old Faithful