UNITED STATES NEWS

The US and allies clash with North Korea, China and Russia over failed satellite launch and tensions

Aug 25, 2023, 8:33 PM

FILE -Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, speaks after a meeti...

FILE -Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, speaks after a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the war in Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, at United Nations headquarters. The United States and its allies clashed Friday, Aug. 25, 2023 with North Korea, Russia and China over Pyongyang’s failed attempts to launch a spy satellite and who is responsible for escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the DPRK had again defied Security Council resolutions by pursuing its unlawful ballistic missile program. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States and its allies clashed Friday with North Korea, Russia and China over Pyongyang’s failed attempts to launch a spy satellite and who is responsible for escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The open Security Council meeting called by the U.S., Albania, Ecuador, France, Japan and Malta to condemn the attempted launch, which used banned ballistic missile technology, was attended by North Korea’s United Nations ambassador for just the second time since 2017.

Ambassador Kim Song, who also addressed the council in July, told members the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — the country’s official name — has “an independent and legitimate right” as a sovereign country to launch a satellite for “self-defense to deter the ever-increasing hostile military acts of the United States and its followers.”

The North’s space agency said Thursday its reconnaissance satellite, Malligyong-1, failed for a second time to go into orbit, blaming an error in its third-stage flight. Pyongyang said it will make a third attempt in October to achieve a key military goal of its leader, Kim Jong Un.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the DPRK had again defied Security Council resolutions by pursuing its unlawful ballistic missile program. She said 13 of the 15 Security Council members oppose the DPRK’s unlawful actions and have called for an end to the country’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and its tests — and for unity of the council.

Song said the DPRK has never recognized Security Council resolutions, which he claimed infringe on “the rights of a sovereign state and will never be bound by them in the future.”

He accused the United States and South Korea’s “military gangsters” of “turning the Korean Peninsula into a potential area of an immense thermal nuclear war” while clamoring for regime change in the DPRK and waging large-scale joint military exercises that he said feature “nuclear preemptive strikes on our state as a fait accompli.”

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called the council meeting “a cynical, hypocritical attempt by the U.S. and its allies to step up pressure on Pyongyang and to detract attention from the reckless escalatory actions of Washington and its allies in the region, who represent the real sources of threats to international peace and security.”

He called the expansion of U.S.-led military exercises “blatantly provocative,” saying they further complicate prospects for starting a dialogue, which is necessary to strengthen regional security.

China’s deputy U.N. ambassador Geng Shuang accused the United States of “a long-standing hostile policy towards the DPRK,” telling the council that Washington’s continuous pressure, including sending a nuclear-armed submarine to the peninsula in July, makes the North feel “increasingly insecure.”

He said the Security Council should not intensify tension but take practical actions to respond to the DPRK’s legitimate concerns and create conditions to relaunch talks.

Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador, rejected “the disingenuous claims by Russia and China that the U.S. is acting in a hostile manner,” calling the military exercises routine, lawful and defensive.

“And unlike the DPRK’s ballistic missile launches, they are not prohibited by U.N. Security Council resolutions,” she said.

Thomas-Greenfield also reiterated the U.S. commitment to diplomacy, saying that the Biden administration publicly and privately has repeatedly urged the DPRK to engage in dialogue without preconditions. “But the DPRK has still not responded to our offers,” she said.

China’s Geng retorted that the military exercises are “at a record level,” pointing to U.S. bombers and Marines taking part, and noting more U.S. sanctions on the DPRK. “I would like to ask in this context, how can the dialogue be really resumed?” he said.

The council meeting also saw a heated exchange between Japan and the DPRK and China over Tokyo’s release of treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

North Korea’s Song first raised the issue, saying the Security Council should denounce “Japan’s heinous crime against humanity,” which he said is jeopardizing the safety and security of all people and the marine ecological environment.

Japan’s U.N. Ambassador Kimihiro Ishikane rejected the “baseless allegations,” saying that scientific evidence has said the discharges are safe.

But China’s Geng, whose country has banned seafood from Japan, reiterated Beijing’s strong opposition, saying the discharge of “nuclear-contaminated water” into the ocean is “transferring the nuclear threat to the whole world.”

United States News

Associated Press

Pennsylvania inmates sue over ‘tortuous conditions’ of solitary confinement

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Solitary confinement conditions in a Pennsylvania state prison are unconstitutional, worsening and creating mental illness in those held there, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of five inmates who say they have spent long periods in “torturous conditions.” With limited mental health resources, some of the plaintiffs inside […]

6 minutes ago

Associated Press

The Supreme Court seems likely to side with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed likely to preserve the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against a conservative-led challenge. Even some conservative justices sounded skeptical of arguments that the agency, created after the 2008 financial crisis to regulate mortgages, car loans and other consumer finance, violates the Constitution in the […]

39 minutes ago

Associated Press

Colorado high court to hear case against Christian baker who refused to make LGBTQ-themed cake

DENVER (AP) — On the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court victory this summer for a graphic artist who didn’t want to design wedding websites for same-sex couples, Colorado’s highest court said Tuesday it will now hear the case of a Christian baker who refused to make a cake celebrating a gender transition. The announcement […]

50 minutes ago

FILE - Republican presidential candidate and former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Iowa Fa...

Associated Press

Former VP Pence to talk national security and foreign policy at AP-Georgetown University forum

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President and GOP candidate Mike Pence will take questions on national security and foreign policy Tuesday afternoon at Washington’s Georgetown University. The appearance will be the first in a series of conversations with 2024 Republican presidential candidates on the topic co-hosted by The Associated Press and Georgetown’s Institute of Politics […]

57 minutes ago

Associated Press

Atlanta will pay $3.75M to family of Nebraska man who died after being handcuffed and held face down

ATLANTA (AP) — The city of Atlanta will pay $3.75 million to the family of a Nebraska man who died after police handcuffed him face down. The City Council approved the settlement Monday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, after the Fulton County medical examiner determined that Ricardo Dorado Jr.’s death on Aug. 21, 2022 was a […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

2 Army soldiers killed, 12 injured in crash of military transport vehicle in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Two U.S. Army soldiers were killed and 12 others injured after a military transport vehicle flipped on a dirt road leading to a training area in Alaska, officials said. The single-vehicle accident happened Monday as the soldiers headed to the Yukon Training Area near Salcha, or about 30 miles (48 kilometers) […]

2 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Importance of AC maintenance after Arizona’s excruciating heat wave

An air conditioning unit in Phoenix is vital to living a comfortable life inside, away from triple-digit heat.

...

Ignite Digital

How to unlock the power of digital marketing for Phoenix businesses

All businesses around the Valley hopes to maximize their ROI with current customers and secure a greater market share in the digital sphere.

...

Ability360

At Ability360, every day is Independence Day

With 100 different programs and services, more than 1,500 non-medically based home care staff, a world-renowned Sports & Fitness Center and over 15,000 people with disabilities served annually, across all ages and demographics, Ability360 is a nationwide leader in the disability community.

The US and allies clash with North Korea, China and Russia over failed satellite launch and tensions