US lashes out at Russia, China for silence on North Korea

UNITED NATIONS

The US lashed out at Russia and China on Friday for remaining silent in the face of North Korea's growing weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.

It came at a UN Security Council meeting that discussed Pyongyang's failed launch of a military spy satellite. The meeting was requested by the US.

On Wednesday, North Korea launched its new type of satellite carrier rocket, Chollima-1, which crashed into the West Sea of Korea.

''This launch may have failed, but it was launched in brazen violation of multiple Security Council resolutions, raised tensions, and risked destabilizing the already sensitive security situation in the region and beyond,'' said US deputy envoy to the UN Robert Wood.

''The DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), with the support of its two staunch defenders on the Council, are trying to normalize these unlawful launches and assert they are justified,'' he said. ''In the face of the growing DPRK WMD and ballistic missile threat and the Council’s silence, it is unbelievable that the two members of this Council expect the United States and our allies to stand idly.”

He urged the Security Council to condemn North Korea's unlawful launches and for Pyongyang not to conduct another launch.