News / Koreas

North Korea denounces UN chief remarks about missile launches as 'unfair'

Tuesday, 08 November 2022 6:25 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 08 November 2022 6:25 PM ]

People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, on May 25, 2022, after North Korea fired three ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea's military. (Photo by AFP)

North Korea has censured United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for condemning Pyongyang's recent missile launches, claiming that his "prejudiced" biased behavior has played a role in fueling tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Kim Son-gyong, North Korea's vice foreign minister for international organizations, in a statement on Tuesday described the missile launches as "just counteraction for self-defense to cope with the US military provocations."

"I think that the unfair and prejudiced behavior of the UN secretary general is to blame to some extent for the situation on the Korean Peninsula getting so serious," he said.

Guterres earlier on Friday condemned North Korea's recent missile launches. He demanded that Pyongyang immediately desist from taking "provocative" action and fully comply with its international obligations under all relevant Security Council resolutions.

Last week, Pyongyang staged a number of back-to-back missile launches, including reportedly of an intercontinental ballistic missile, as the United States and South Korea were conducting massive air force exercises around the North.

North Korea said the flurry of missile and artillery fires were in response to the joint drills, which Pyongyang regards as rehearsals for an invasion.

The United States and South Korea began one of their largest combined military air drills last week. The six-day war games ended on Saturday. They featured nearly 240 warplanes conducting about 1,600 sorties. The US Air Force has boasted that the exercises were unprecedented in their scale.

North Korea fires artillery into sea after South Korea, US extend drills

North Korea fired multiple artillery shots into a maritime border zone after, South Korea said on Friday.

The North's military said on Monday that the exercises were an "open provocation aimed at intentionally escalating tensions" and "a dangerous war drill of a very high aggressive nature." The military said it had drilled hitting a major South Korean city to "smash the enemies' persistent war hysteria."

Nuclear-armed North Korea has tested a record number of missiles this year, and officials in Seoul and Washington say the North has completed technical preparations to conduct a nuclear weapon test for the first time since 2017.

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