Global powers clash at UN over North Korea

UNITED NATIONS:

The United States, Britain and France confronted Russia at the United Nations Security Council on Friday over accusations it was violating an arms embargo on North Korea by using missiles and munitions from Pyongyang in its war against Ukraine.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia rejected the accusations as “completely false” during the meeting, which came after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pact last week with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in which they agreed to provide military assistance if either faced armed aggression.

The United States also called out China on Friday, saying it should use its influence with North Korea and Russia to protect regional and global security and end “this increasingly dangerous military cooperation” between the pair.

“I appeal to my Chinese colleagues to understand that if indeed the situation on the Korean Peninsula continues on the trajectory it’s going, the United States and its allies will have to take steps to defend their security,” deputy US Ambassador Robert Wood told the council, without elaborating.

China strongly rejected a US accusation that it was emboldening North Korea by not condemning Russia’s actions. “The current situation on the Korean Peninsula continues to be tense. How did this come about?” said China’s deputy UN ambassador, Geng Shuang. Nebenzia dismissed the council meeting – called by the US, France, Britain, South Korea and Japan – as a bid to “disseminate baseless accusations in order to detract attention from their own destructive actions”. “Our cooperation with Pyongyang is exclusively constructive. It does not threaten anybody.”