China blamed the ‘overturning’ of US policies for new tensions, while Washington asked whether Beijing and Moscow supported their relationship for global security.
China and Russia accuse the US of raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula in a landmark meeting held to explain their veto New global sanctions on Pyongyang are extended ballistic missile launch.
Zhang Jun, China’s ambassador to the United Nations, told the General Assembly on Wednesday that tensions on the peninsula had “developed to where it is today, mainly due to US policies”.
He pushed Washington to act and made calls for sanctions to be lifted.
“There are many things that the US can do, such as easing sanctions on [North Korea] in certain areas and end joint military exercises [with South Korea]. It is important to take actions, not just talk about readiness for dialogue with no preconditions,” said Zhang.
Moscow’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Anna Evstigneeva, also called for sanctions to be lifted.
North Korea needs more humanitarian aid and the West should stop blaming Pyongyang for the tensions, she said.
Wednesday’s session of the 193-member United Nations General Assembly was the first in which the permanent members of the Security Council were required to explain their use of veto power, a step required by the resolution adopted by the United Nations. adopted by the global body on April 26.
China and Russia’s veto measures on North Korea last month openly divided the United Nations Security Council for the first time since it began punishing Pyongyang with punitive measures in 2006.
Speaking to the US, Deputy Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis denied the accusations of China and Russia, and questioned whether Beijing and Moscow raised the issue. Strategic partnership “without limits” on a global level of security by vetoing sanctions on North Korea.
“We hope these vetoes do not reflect that partnership,” DeLaurentis, told the meeting after China and Russia.
“Their explanations for the exercise of the veto are inadequate, unreliable and unconvincing. The veto powers were not deployed to serve our collective security and safety. “
He added that the current sanctions and proposed new measures were in direct response to North Korea’s actions and said the US had repeatedly tried to restart talks, sending public messages public and private, but have not received a response.
While responding to the right later on Wednesday, Chinese diplomat Wu Jianjian said Beijing rejects “presumptuous comments and accusations against China’s voting position”.
“China’s vote against the draft resolution drawn up by the United States is completely reasonable and justifiable,” Wu said. “Continuing to increase sanctions on North Korea will only make the possibility of reaching a political solution even further away,” he said, referring to North Korea by initials. official country.
North Korea has carried out dozens of ballistic missile launches this year, including an intercontinental ballistic missile commonly known as an ICBM, after breaking a moratorium on tests it set for itself in 2018. when leader Kim Jong Un met then US President Donald Trump.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office on May 10, agreed with US President Joe Biden at a summit last month to strengthen their joint military exercises to deter North Korea. The South Korean and U.S. militaries have since compared every North Korean test to demonstrations of force, which they say are intended to demonstrate the North’s ability and willingness to respond to any provocation. Tien.
The two countries also warned that North Korea was preparing to conduct a seventh nuclear test, in which the US said it would once again push for UN sanctions if it took place.
North Korea defends its development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons as a safeguard against “direct threats” from the United States – a claim Washington denies.
Pyongyang’s ambassador, Kim Song, stressed that the provisions of the UN Charter “clearly state that every country has the right to individual or collective self-defence”.
“The measures that the DPRK is taking to strengthen its national defense capability is an inevitable choice to deal with the hostile threats of the United States within the scope of its right to self-defence,” he said. .
