Rare Public Sparring Match at UN between North Korea and US Envoys

Rare handout photo: North Korea prepares to launch a spy satellite, Malligyong-1, in North Gyeongsang Province, North Korea – Nov. 21, 2023. Image obtained by Reuters (KCNA via REUTERS/File photo).

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 27 (Reuters) – U.S. and North Korean ambassadors clashed at the Security Council over Pyongyang’s spy satellite launch and escalating tensions. The adversaries engaged in a public exchange, marking North Korea’s first envoy presence at U.N. Security Council meetings in nearly six years.

The two envoys, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield and North Korean Ambassador Kim Song, made impromptu remarks following a meeting discussing the Nov. 21 spy satellite launch. They argued their countries were acting defensively.

Kim told the council that the U.S. was threatening North Korea with a nuclear weapon, justifying North Korea’s right to develop and possess weapons systems. Meanwhile, Thomas-Greenfield rejected North Korea’s claim, offering dialogue without preconditions.

Formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 for its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, including a ban on ballistic missile development.

Denuclearization talks involving North Korea, South Korea, China, the U.S., Russia, and Japan have stalled since 2009, with talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019 also failing.

The U.N. Security Council has been divided over its approach to dealing with North Korea, with Russia and China urging for eased sanctions while the U.S., Britain, and France favor maintaining and strengthening them. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Grant McCool and Sandra Maler)

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