▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L), alongside his daughter wearing a winter jacket, views a new type of the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) during an on-site inspection of the missile launch at Pyongyang International Airport on Nov. 18, 2022, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

US-China-N Korea

China not putting necessary pressure on N. Korea to stop provocations: NSC coordinator

By Byun Duk-kun

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (Yonhap) -- China is not putting the kind of pressure it can on North Korea to help stop Pyongyang from continuing with its provocative actions, a White House National Security Council (NSC) official said Tuesday.

John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications, made the remark one day after Beijing again blocked an U.S.-led effort to have the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemn North Korea's recent missile launches.

China, Kirby said in a virtual press briefing, is still a government that has "not put the kind of pressure we believe they can put on Pyongyang to stop their provocative actions."

North Korea has fired over 60 ballistic missiles this year, including eight intercontinental ballistic missiles, that mark the largest number of ballistic missiles fired in a single year, according to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

The U.S. on Monday sought to push for a U.N. Security Council statement, condemning North Korea's latest ICBM test firing that took place on Friday, but failed due to opposition from Beijing and Moscow, both veto power-wielding permanent members of the Security Council and close neighbors of the North.

Monday's UNSC meeting marked the 10th of its kind to be held on North Korea this year that ended without any tangible outcome.

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