North Korea Shifts Blame Again... Fierce Criticism of UN Secretary-General's 'ICBM Condemnation'

"Turning a Blind Eye to North Korea's Right to Self-Defense in the US and Namjosun"
'Security Council Paralysis'... Building Justification Relying on Backers China and Russia

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] North Korea fiercely criticized the UN Secretary-General for turning a blind eye to the military actions of South Korea and the United States while applying an unfair standard only to North Korea. Recently, North Korea has been blaming the international community for its military provocations by claiming the UN's 'unfairness,' which is interpreted as an attempt to create a justification for China and Russia to shield North Korea in the UN Security Council (UNSC).

Kim Sun-kyung, Vice Minister in charge of International Organizations at the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated in a commentary released through the Korean Central News Agency on the 22nd, "I strongly express my dissatisfaction and vehement protest against the UN Secretary-General, who has turned a blind eye and remained silent regarding the worrisome military actions of the United States and South Korea, yet insults the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's legitimate exercise of self-defense rights as 'provocation' and 'threat,' displaying an extremely unfair and unbalanced attitude toward the provocateurs."

Ant?nio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, UN Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres issued a statement on the 19th (local time) condemning North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch, and this critical commentary appears to be directed at that statement.

Vice Minister Kim warned, "If an unwanted situation arises on the Korean Peninsula due to the excessive military adventures of the United States and South Korea, the UN Secretary-General himself, who neither restrains the provocative acts of the United States and South Korea nor expresses any concern, cannot be free from heavy responsibility for that."

He further argued, "The recent response by the armed forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a countermeasure against the United States frequently bringing unmistakable strategic attack means such as strategic bombers to the Korean Peninsula region since the beginning of the year, which severely threaten our country's security interests together with South Korea," adding, "More closely, it was a behavioral warning against the convening of the UN Security Council meeting that baselessly challenged our right to self-defense." Once again, North Korea shifted the responsibility for its military provocations to external factors.

Since the beginning of this year, North Korea has been focusing its criticism on the UN Security Council, questioning its 'fairness.' The Foreign Ministry spokesperson threatened on the 17th through a commentary, "As a protest against the Security Council, which is being transformed into a tool for pressure against North Korea, we may have no choice but to reconsider additional actions beyond the scope of normal military activities." Although no response has been made at the Security Council level due to the frequent use of veto power by China and Russia, North Korea appears to be initiating preemptive pressure with additional provocations in mind.

Having resumed provocations under the pretext of the South Korea-US joint military exercises, North Korea is expected to escalate the level of provocations by using China and Russia as its 'backers.' However, due to the non-cooperation of China and Russia, sanctions at the Security Council level remain unlikely. The meeting convened on the 20th (local time) to discuss North Korea's ICBM launch ended without any results. The chairman's statement to respond to the Hwasong-17 ICBM launched by North Korea last November is still stalled. Although the response level has been lowered, China and Russia, as Security Council members, are refusing to engage.