The US and other countries pushing for discussing the North Korea nuclear issue at the UN Security Council level have been accused by China of having a "double standards" mentality.
Washington and its allies were called out for "shirking their responsibilities by blatantly engaging in nuclear cooperation in the Asia Pacific region that contravenes the purposes and objects of the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons)," according to a readout of remarks made by China’s Ambassador Dai Bing at the UN Security Council Briefing on the North Korean nuclear issue.
Beijing has been closely following the escalating tensions around the Korean Peninsula, and urges all relevant parties to "remain calm, exercise restraint, and stay committed to the right direction of political settlement."
'Geopolitical Manipulation'
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has long been facing tremendous security pressure, challenges, and threats, the Chinese UN ambassador underscored, pointing to the joint military activities around the peninsula this year, which have been stepped up by the US and its allies.
Dai Bing, Ambassador for China, speaks during a United Nations General Assembly meeting.
© AFP 2023 / YUKI IWAMURA
"The US announced joint military exercises on a higher level and a bigger scale and timely deployment of strategic assets. NATO Secretary General paid a high profile visit to countries in the region, where he promoted the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation. Such moves are highly provocative to the DPRK and aggravate its sense of insecurity. Relevant countries should seriously reflect on the relevant causality," Ambassador Dai Bing warned.
China is strongly urging for lessons to be drawn from history and to avoid a vicious cycle of repeated escalation fraught with the risk of “pushing the situation out of control.”
"Certain countries, in particular, should give up their geopolitical manipulation, stop the clamor about war, and refrain from resorting to pressurization at every turn through military exercises and sections," China's envoy to the UN stated.
Regarding the UN Security Council, China insisted that the body play a constructive role, with all discussions pertaining to the current situation on the peninsula tailored towards easing tensions and, instead, boosting mutual trust and incorporating a call for resuming the sx-party talks. The latter were a series of multilateral negotiations held intermittently from 2003 and involving China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and the United States.
Beijing blasted some council members for continuously pushing for meetings on the DPRK nuclear issue, while demanding more sanctions on North Korea.
“Implementing sanctions and promoting the resumption of talks are both ways of implementing Council resolutions. One should not weigh over or replace the other, nor can they be implemented only selectively. Exclusively pursuing and piling on sanctions will only lead to a dead end,” China’s UN envoy concluded.
An urgent meeting of the UN Security Council was demanded at the request of Japan to discuss the latest missile tests carried out by North Korea - the Saturday ICBM launch and the Monday test-firing of two ballistic missiles. Washington proposed that the council condemn North Korea's ballistic missile launches, with US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield saying that a lack of action was "worse than shameful. It is dangerous."
Pyongyang confirmed earlier that it had test-fired two missiles from a multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) on February 20, according to the state-run news agency. It said that the two missiles, fired toward the Sea of Japan, had flown 395 kilometers (245 miles) and 337 kilometers.
On Saturday, North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The launch was carried out from the Pyongyang International Airport and the missile reached a maximum altitude of 5,768 kilometers (3,584 miles), covering a distance of 989 kilometers, according to the South Korean military.
Furthermore, Kim Yo-jong, a top North Korean politician and the sister of the country's leader Kim Jong-un, issued a warning as the United States, which conducted a joint air exercise with South Korea on February 19 that involved F-35 and F-16 military aircraft, as well as a US B-1 Lancer strategic bomber, and a separate joint air exercise with Japan that same day.
"The frequency of using the Pacific as our firing range depends upon the US forces' action character. We are well aware of the movement of US forces' strategic strike means, (which are) recently getting brisk around the Korean Peninsula," she stated