UN, China and Russia condemn Pyongyang missile tests

The UN secretary general’s condemnation and an invitation to China and the US to work together. Beijing and Moscow ask to avoid "provocative" moves such as joint military exercises and missile Thaad system. Even the Korean bishops opposed to Thaad.

 

New York (AsiaNews) - The United Nations secretary, Antonio Guterres, has strongly condemned the latest missile launch by North Korea, calling it "another troubling breach" of UN resolutions. In an urgent meeting of the Security Council, requested by the United States, South Korea and Japan, held yesterday afternoon, Guterres said that the leadership of North Korea "must return to full compliance with international obligations and the path of denuclearization ".

Two days ago, Pyongyang launched a ground-to-ground missile from the base of Bangyong, in the north west of the country.

Guterres called on the "international community to continue to address the situation together, referring especially to the United States and China. The latter is perhaps the only ally of Pyongyang.

Washington and Beijing have been working in a unified way in the last two UN resolutions, involving the imposition of further sanctions on North Korea after a new series of missile tests.

The last in order of time was in November, blocking coal exports to China, depriving Pyongyang of income for hundreds of millions of dollars.

This time China and Russia were among the last countries to react to North Korea's transgression. Yesterday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said that "China is paying close attention to the dynamics of the event (the test-launching)." Geng also urged relevant parties not to engage in provocative moves which could heighten regional tensions. "All parties need to exercise restraint to maintain regional peace and stability," he noted.

Leonid Slutsky, the chairman of the Russian lower house of parliament's international affairs committee, told Sputnik News Agency that the test launch is "of course a challenge. Such actions contradict UNSC decisions, particularly the resolution adopted in November, and would, of course, worsen the situation in the region".

Slutsky also said that he opposes the deployment of Thaad and further sanctions against North Korea.

The Korean bishops are also against the Thaad system, eager not to see the Korean Peninsula turned into a "center of the new Cold War."

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