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| ▲ This Associated Press file photo, taken on July 18, 2023, shows State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller speaking during a press briefing at the department in Washington. (Yonhap) |
US-NK missile launches
U.S. cites disunity at U.N. Security Council as reason for escalation of N.K. missile launches
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, May 20 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. State Department spokesperson on Monday singled out disunity at the U.N. Security Council as a reason for North Korea's stepped-up ballistic missile launches, as he called for China and Russia to encourage Pyongyang to refrain from provocative acts.
Matthew Miller, the spokesperson, made the remarks as Pyongyang has been doubling down on its ballistic missile program as seen in last week's launch of a tactical ballistic missile equipped with what it called a new autonomous navigation system.
"We have been concerned that the U.N. Security Council has not spoken with one voice since 2017 on the DPRK's repeated violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions," he said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"Because there has not been unity, the DPRK has escalated its ballistic missile launches ... and we urge Beijing and Moscow to encourage the DPRK to refrain from that behavior and return to the negotiating table," he added.
Commenting on deepening military ties between North Korea and Russia, Miller reiterated that the trend of their cooperation should be a "great concern to anyone" who is interested in maintaining peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.
"We think that's something that should concern China as well, and China should use its influence to push back on that increasing cooperation between the two regimes," he said, referring to the conversations that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had with Chinese officials during a trip to Beijing last month.
"It is not a decision they've made to do so as of yet," he added.
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