4 weeks ago
North Korea connected Friday slammed nan ongoing Asia sojourn by U.S. Ambassador to nan United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who said to reporters successful Seoul connected Wednesday, arsenic an "aid-begging trip" meant. Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI
SEOUL, April 19 (UPI) -- North Korea connected Friday slammed a sojourn to Asia by nan apical U.S. envoy to nan United Nations arsenic an "aid-begging trip" meant to prop up an "illegal" sanctions authorities against nan isolated state.
Kim Son Gyong, nan North's Vice Foreign Minister, made nan remarks astir U.S. Ambassador to nan United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who spent 4 days successful South Korea this week earlier arriving successful Japan connected Thursday.
In a connection carried by state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim called nan sojourn "no much than an aid-begging travel ... to enliven nan weakened forbidden sanctions and unit connected nan DPRK pinch nan thief of inferior allies."
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is nan charismatic sanction of North Korea.
"It is nan last-ditch effort to proceed to hit nan drum of unit by sewing up a ripped sanctions drum," Kim said.
During her visit, Thomas-Greenfield said that nan United States and its friends successful Seoul and Tokyo were discussing caller approaches to monitoring world sanctions against North Korea complete its atomic and ballistic rocket programs.
The travel came aft Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council solution past period to widen nan instruction of nan Panel of Experts, which has been successful spot since 2009 to support tabs connected North Korea's sanctions compliance.
"I look guardant to engaging pinch some nan Republic of Korea and Japan, and like-minded [countries] arsenic well, connected trying to create options some wrong nan U.N. arsenic good arsenic extracurricular of nan U.N.," Thomas-Greenfield said Wednesday astatine a press conference successful Seoul.
"The constituent present is that we cannot let nan activity that nan Panel of Experts were doing to collapse," she said. "We person to proceed to support eyes connected and study connected nan forbidden activities of nan DPRK and efforts to break nan sanctions that person been put successful place."
Pyongyang and Moscow person strengthened ties since a September sojourn by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia.
South Korean defense officials said recently that nan North has shipped astir 7,000 containers of munitions to Russia for its warfare against Ukraine. Moscow, meanwhile, is wide believed to beryllium sharing precocious weapons exertion and delivering shipments of lipid to thief Pyongyang evade sanctions.
In Friday's statement, Kim claimed Greenfield-Thomas's Asia travel demonstrated that nan United States was overlooking nan much urgent conflict successful nan Middle East.
"At present, nan Middle East situation, including Palestine's admittance to a UN rank is brought up for chat astatine nan UNSC arsenic nan astir pressing issue," Kim said.
"Nevertheless, nan U.S. typical to nan UN obstinately embarked connected her travel to Asia, turning her look distant from each nan facts," Kim said. "This intelligibly shows that nan U.S. has taken nary relationship of bid and information guarantee successful nan Middle East including Palestine, but it is astatine a nonaccomplishment for nan miserable destiny of nan tattered sanctions system against nan DPRK."
On Thursday, nan United States blocked a U.N. Security Council solution to admit Palestine arsenic a afloat personnel authorities of nan United Nations, arguing that admittance would not execute statehood for nan Palestinian people.
