AFP: The United States yesterday accused China and Russia of “encouraging” North Korean missile launches by thwarting a united response from the UN Security Council on the issue.
US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield slammed Beijing and Moscow for refusing “to engage in good-faith diplomacy,” and charged that their “obstructionism in the Council encourages North Korea to launch ballistic missiles with impunity.” “How many times must the DPRK violate its UN Security Council resolution obligations before China and Russia stop shielding the DPRK regime?” Thomas-Greenfield asked at a Council meeting, using an acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Last May, China and Russia vetoed a resolution imposing new sanctions on Pyongyang.