Anchor: The UN Security Council convened a meeting on Monday to address North Korea’s launch of its new Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last week. Efforts to adopt a statement were again thwarted by Russia and China, which blamed the U.S. for provoking Pyongyang.
Tom McCarthy has more.

Report:

[Upsound: UN Security Council Public Meeting (New York, April 17, 2023)]
Chairman: “It is the DPRK’s first launch of a long-range solid-fuel ballistic missile. Solid-propellant missiles...”

The UN Security Council remains divided over a response to North Korea’s launch of its new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM), the Hwasong-18, last Thursday.

In the meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday, convened at the request of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield stressed the global danger posed by the North’s weapons program.

[Sound bite: Linda Thomas-Greenfield – U.S. Permanent Rep. to United Nations]
“A long range ballistic missile test like the one conducted last week threaten not only the region, but the entire world. This is not a bilateral issue. This is a threat to every single one of us.”

Calling for a united response from the international community, the Thomas-Greenfield said that failure by the UNSC to take action will only result in the continuation of the North’s illegal acts.

South Korea’s representative, Hwang Joon-kook, also lamented the prioritization of its weapons of mass destruction(WMD) program, referring to North Korea as "the DPRK."

[Sound bite: Hwang Joon-kook – South Korea’s Permanent Rep. to United Nations]
“The DPRK regime is completely obsessed with its unlawful WMD programs, despite the severe and ongoing suffering of its own people. It is simply appalling to witness how the DPRK completely disregards international norms, and egregiously mocks and menaces the functioning and authority of the Security Council, the Secretary-General, and the principles of the UN Charter.”

Despite calls for a unified response, China and Russia again obstructed any action by the Security Council as they defended North Korea, blaming South Korea-U.S. military drills for the provocations by the regime.

[Sound bite: Zhang Jun – China’s Permanent Rep. to United Nations (Chinese-English)]
“For decades, its legitimate concerns have been denied the attention and response they deserve. Recently, the United States has been conducting frequent military exercises in the periphery of the peninsula deploying strategic weapons such as nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and B-52 bombers, which has greatly heightened the DPRK's sense of insecurity. This is the main trigger for the current tensions on the peninsula.”

The deadlock means that the UNSC has once again failed to issue a response to North Korea’s missile launches, a trend that started in May of 2022 when Russia and China first vetoed a resolution by the Security Council in response to Pyongyang's provocations.
Tom McCarthy, KBS WORLD Radio News.