(Seoul) North Korea’s foreign minister on Sunday criticized the “deplorable attitude” of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who condemned a recent launch by Pyongyang of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the agency said. state KCNA.
“I express my deep regret that the UN Secretary-General observes a truly deplorable attitude, oblivious to the purpose and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and its very mission which is to maintain impartiality, objectivity and fairness on all matters,” Minister Choe Son Hui said.
She added that it “clearly proves” that Mr. Guterres “is a puppet of the United States”.
The UN Secretary-General on Friday called on North Korea to “immediately refrain” from any new “provocation” after this new shooting, again calling on Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table.
The United Nations Security Council said on Saturday it would meet on Monday to discuss the situation.
Calling on the UN body to “respond appropriately”, the European Union condemned “a dangerous, illegal and irresponsible action”.
The United States, South Korea and Japan have intensified joint military maneuvers in recent months since Kim Jong-un declared in September that North Korea’s nuclear state status was “irreversible”.
Seoul and Washington notably conducted the largest joint air exercises in their history in late October and early November.
On Sunday, the North Korean Foreign Minister recalled that the Pyongyang authorities had “recently warned the UN Secretary General to examine the issue of the Korean peninsula impartially and objectively”.
The minister highlighted North Korea’s “self-defense” policy “in a worrying security environment in the region due to dangerous military cooperation between the United States and its vassal forces”.
“The UN Secretary General has nevertheless made North Korea responsible rather than the United States,” assured the minister.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un supervised the launch of his latest intercontinental ballistic missile accompanied by his daughter, who he unveiled to the world for the first time, according to a message published Saturday by the KCNA agency.
Mr. Kim also reaffirmed that he would resort to the atomic bomb in the event of a nuclear attack against his country, according to KCNA.