China urges more ‘flexibility’ from US after North Korea missile launches
- UN Security Council meets after Kim Jong-un’s regime conducted an unprecedented nine missile launch tests in January
- China’s UN ambassador called on the United States to be more flexible in its dealings with North Korea
The key to solving the issue of North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes is in the United States’ hands, China’s UN envoy said on Friday, urging Washington to show “more sincerity and flexibility” if it wants a breakthrough.
“They should come up with more attractive and more practical, more flexible approaches, policies and actions in accommodating concerns” of North Korea, ambassador Zhang Jun told reporters. “The key in solving this issue is already in the hands of the United States.”
He spoke ahead of a closed UN Security Council meeting, which was requested by the United States to discuss North Korea’s launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile last Sunday.
After the meeting, US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters: “We have to keep up the pressure”.
She also read a joint statement by more than half the UN Security Council condemning North Korea’s latest missile launch and warning that continued silence by the 15-member body would only embolden Pyongyang.
02:02
North Korea launches most powerful ballistic missile test since 2017, takes pictures from space
The eight council members - the United States, Albania, Brazil, France, Ireland, Norway, the United Arab Emirates and Britain - and Japan described Sunday’s launch as a “significant escalation” that “seeks to further destabilise the region”.
