DPRK slams Guterres' missile condemnation as 'unfair'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Feb 2023 12:21
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The UN Secretary-General responds to the DPRK's ICBM launch, a day after the US denounced what it described as a "dangerous lack of action" by the UNSC.

A Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile launched at Pyongyang International Airport, in Pyongyang, Feb. 18, 2023 (KCNA)

The DPRK on Wednesday rejected condemnation by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of its recent ballistic missile launches, saying it was "unfair and unbalanced" and ignored Pyongyang's right to self-defense.

The DPRK has fired three missiles in the past five days, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test it said highlighted its capacity for a "fatal nuclear counterattack on the hostile forces."

Just one day after the United States denounced what it described as a "dangerous" lack of action by the UN Security Council on the missile launches, Guterres responded to Saturday's ICBM launch with a statement calling on Pyongyang to "immediately desist from taking any further provocative actions."

Kim Son Gyong, the DPRK's Vice Foreign Minister, expressed "strong discontent and protest against the extremely unfair and imbalanced attitude" of Guterres, according to a statement on KCNA state media.

Kim pointed out that Guterres' assessment ignored "dangerous" joint military drills by Washington and Seoul and that he should "adopt a fair and balanced attitude."

The DPRK official described his country's missile launches as a justified "countermeasure" to the recent US deployment of strategic bombers to the Korean peninsula.

Washington's UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Monday claimed that the UNSC's "lack of action is worse than shameful. It is dangerous," adding that the "repeated failures to respond emboldens the DPRK" to conduct such launches.

Thomas-Greenfield pointed out that even if permanent members of the Security Council continue to block action, Washington will nevertheless propose adopting a statement condemning the DPRK launches.

On Friday, a spokesperson for the DPRK's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the US has been turning the Korean Peninsula into a military base, accusing the Security Council of failing to act.

It is noteworthy that the Security Council's last display of unity on the issue came in 2017. Under the administration of then-president Donald Trump, the US led the council to adopt three resolutions imposing sanctions on Pyongyang after missile and nuclear tests.