North Korea criticizes Guterres’ statements during trial

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Wednesday accused United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres of “an extremely unfair and unbalanced attitude,” lashing out at the president for condemning his recent attempt to missile but ignoring alleged US hostilities against Pyongang.

After an intercontinental ballistic missile test on Saturday, Guterres strongly condemned the action and reiterated his call for the North to immediately desist from further provocations. In a statement, the UN chief also urged the country to resume talks for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

“The most shameful thing is that the UN secretary-general is making illogical and miserable statements that are little different from those of US State Department officials over the years,” said Kim Son Gyong, vice-president. North Korea’s foreign ministry minister for international organizations, in a statement carried by state media.

According to Kim, the North Korean test was a response to the security threat posed by the United States to the country following the temporary mobilization of long-range bombers for joint exercises with South Korea earlier this year. The essay was also a warning for the prior convening of a UN Security Council meeting on the hermetic nation, he added.

Pyongyang sees military drills between troops from Washington and Seoul as a rehearsal for an invasion and is particularly sensitive to the deployment of US B-1B bombers which can carry a huge payload of conventional guided and unguided weapons. After the launch of the ballistic missile (ICBM), the United States again mobilized B-1Bs for further maneuvers with South Korean and Japanese warplanes.

“The UN Secretary-General must clearly understand that his unreasonable and one-sided stance on the Korean Peninsula issue acts as an inciting factor for hostile acts by the United States and its supporters against (the North),” he said. he declared.

In November, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui called Guterres “America’s puppet” for condemning an earlier test of an ICBM commissioned by Pyongyang.

Saturday’s launch, the first of a North Korean missile since Jan. 1, was forced to avoid neighboring countries. The purported details of the maneuver once again suggest that Pyongyang has missiles that could reach the American mainland. But many foreign experts say the country will still need to develop certain technologies to get missiles with functional nuclear warheads.

South Korea and the United States are to hold joint exercises in the coming weeks, including a virtual exercise at the Pentagon on Wednesday.

In 2022, the North broke its record for weapons launches in one year with more than 70 missiles in its effort to increase its arsenal. Observers say the North wants to gain international recognition as a legitimate nuclear state and use that status to seek relief from international sanctions against it.