SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥� North Korea鈥檚 foreign minister called U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres 鈥渁 puppet of the United States鈥� as she slammed the U.N. chief for joining U.S.-led condemnation of the North's recent intercontinental ballistic missile test.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier issued a statement strongly condemning North Korea鈥檚 ICBM launch on Friday and reiterating his call on the North to 鈥渢o immediately desist from taking any further provocative actions.鈥� Guterres鈥檚 statement came after the United States and other countries issued similar criticism of the North's ICBM test that showed an potential to strike anywhere in the continental U.S.
鈥淚 often take the U.N. secretary-general for a member of the U.S. White House or its State Department,鈥� North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said in a statement carried by state media. 鈥淚 express my strong regret over the fact that the U.N. secretary-general has taken a very deplorable attitude, oblivious of the purpose and principles of the U.N. Charter and its proper mission which is to maintain impartiality, objectivity and equity in all matters.鈥�
Choe accused Guterres of overlooking the U.S. and its allies taking the North鈥檚 ICBM test to the U.N. Security Council, saying that 鈥淭his clearly proves that he is a puppet of the U.S.鈥�
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting for Monday morning on North Korea鈥檚 ICBM launch at Japan鈥檚 request. But it鈥檚 unclear if it can impose new economic sanctions on North Korea because China and Russia, two of the council鈥檚 veto-wielding members, have opposed the previous U.S. and its allies鈥� moves to toughen sanctions on the North over its banned tests of ballistic missiles earlier this year.
On Sunday, top diplomats from the world鈥檚 major industrialized democracies issued a joint statement calling for strong steps by the U.N. Security Council in reaction to the North Korean missile launch. 鈥�(North Korea鈥檚) actions demand a united and robust response by the international community, including the need for further significant measures to be taken by the U.N. Security Council,鈥� said the statement by foreign ministers from the Group of Seven nations 鈥� Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Friday鈥檚 ICBM launch was the latest in North Korea鈥檚 ongoing torrid run of missile tests that experts say are meant to boost its nuclear capability and increase its leverage in future diplomacy.
North Korea said leader Kim Jong Un observed Friday's launch of its Hwasong-17 missile and called it another "reliable and maximum-capacity鈥� weapon to contain U.S. military threats. Some experts say the Hwasong-17 is still under development but it's the North's longest-range missile and is designed to carry several nuclear warheads to overcome U.S. missile defense systems.
North Korea has argued its testing activities are a warning to the United States and South Korea over their series of military drills that the North believes were an invasion rehearsal. Washington and Seoul have maintained their exercises are defensive in nature.
In her statement Monday, Choe again defended her country鈥檚 missile tests, calling them 鈥渓egitimate and just exercise of the right to self-defense鈥� against 鈥減rovocative nuclear war rehearsals鈥� by the United States and its allies. She said it鈥檚 鈥渕ost amazing and deplorable to me鈥� as Guterres still blamed North Korea for a recent flare-up in tensions on the Korean Peninsula, not the United States.
A day before her country鈥檚 ICBM test, Choe threatened to threatened to launch 鈥渇iercer鈥� military responses to steps by the U.S. to bolster its security commitment to South Korea and Japan.
Hyung-jin Kim, The Associated Press
