China and Russia defended Kim Jong Un's missile launches at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday.
What Happened: At the UNSC meeting, Washington argued who was to blame for North Korea's Thursday Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile launch that the council banned in 2006, according to remarks issued by the U.S. ambassador.
Washington also criticized Kim's isolated nation for dozens of ballistic missile launches and the development of a nuclear weapons program.
Meanwhile, North Korean allies Moscow and Beijing blamed the U.S. and South Korea for their joint military drills provoking Pyongyang. Russia Deputy Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva described the U.S. and Seoul's military activity as “unprecedented,” while Beijing questioned if they were even defensive drills as it blamed them for heightening tensions.
“These exercises are long-standing, they are routine. They are purely defensive in nature…The United States harbors no hostile intent toward the DPRK,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador.
The U.S. also accuses China and Russia of emboldening Pyongyang by shielding it from more sanctions. Greenfield said lifting sanctions would reward North Korea “for doing nothing to comply with Security Council resolutions.”
A senior U.N. official at the meeting said the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “remains deeply concerned over the divisions that have prevented the international community from acting on this matter.”
Russia and China also raised concerns about the AUKUS security pact, which is aimed at deterring China in the Pacific.
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