North Korea fired a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile on Monday, with its leader Kim Jong-un observing the launch. The ICBM flew 1,002.3 kilometers for 4,415 seconds at a maximum altitude of 6,518.2 km before "accurately" hitting the East Sea. (Yonhap)
The UN Security Council ended its meeting on North Korea's latest test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile without a united response Tuesday, with North Korea lashing out at the United States and South Korea for infringing upon its right to self-defense.
Kim Song, North Korea's envoy to the United Nations, warned the allies will face consequences if they continue the stepped-up military cooperation and vowed to keep up its arms buildup to counter threats from "hostile forces."
"I strongly denounce and categorically reject the unfair abnormal practice repeated again at the UN Security Council to deal unjustly with the legitimate exercise of the right to self-defense of the DPRK," Kim said at the meeting, referring to his country by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"If they continue with their reckless and irresponsible military threat in an attempt to infringe upon the sovereignty and security interests of the DPRK, its armed forces will never remain an onlooker to it and the provokers will be held entirely responsible for all the consequences arising therefrom," Kim said.
"The DPRK will, in the future, too, continue to build up its strategic power of a more advanced type to contain and control any threat from the US and its followers," he said.
The UNSC meeting failed to produce a consensus amid opposition from China and Russia.
South Korean Ambassador to the UN Hwang Joon-kook said his country will be "relentless" and "tireless" in response to the North's continued provocations in cooperation with the United States and Japan.
"The Republic of Korea, has to, and will, take all necessary measures to protect the lives and safety of our people by maintaining a robust combined defense and deterrence posture," he said.
Hwang also voiced concerns over the UNSC being locked in a stalemate resulting in repeated failures to produce an outcome, calling for unity in at least condemning the North's missile launch that violated the UNSC sanctions resolutions.
Khaled Khiari, UN assistant secretary-general for political and peace-building affairs, denounced the North for "not heeding the strong call from Security Council members to stop the launches."
"We also urge the DPRK to embrace diplomacy, rather than choosing isolation, as the way forward," he said.
Robert Wood, the US envoy to the UN, urged Russia and China to join the moves to prevent Pyongyang's mounting threats "as responsible permanent members."
Ahead of Tuesday's UNSC meeting, 10 countries -- South Korea, the US, Britain, France, Japan, Albania, Ecuador, Malta, Slovenia and Switzerland -- issued a strongly worded joint statement condemning the North's recent missile launches. (Yonhap)
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