After North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan.. America requests a meeting of the Security Council, China and Russia oppose

The United States requested a public session of the UN Security Council on Wednesday to discuss North Korea's launch of a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years, but China and Russia opposed the US request.

"We must limit North Korea's ability to proceed with its illicit programs to develop ballistic weapons and weapons of mass destruction," said Linda Thomas Greenfield, the US ambassador to the Security Council, in a tweet.

Britain, France, Albania, Norway and Ireland all supported the US request.

China and Russia

On the other hand, diplomats said, China and Russia oppose the idea of ​​holding a public meeting of the 15-nation Security Council, and have informed the council's member states of their position, arguing that the Security Council's response should lead to de-escalation of the situation on the Korean peninsula.

A Japanese man is following up on what was reported by the local media about the details of North Korea's missile test over his country's (European) airspace.

It is not yet clear whether the council will meet in public or behind closed doors on Wednesday, and diplomats say it is unlikely that the council will take any concrete action.

The UN Security Council has for years banned North Korea from conducting nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches, and has tightened sanctions on Pyongyang over the years in an attempt to cut off funding for these programmes.

In the past few years, veto-wielding China and Russia have proposed easing UN sanctions on North Korea, both for humanitarian purposes and to lure Pyongyang back into stalled international talks, with the aim of persuading leader Kim Jong Un to denuclearize.

Residents' warning

On Tuesday morning, North Korea launched a medium-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan before falling into the sea, in an unprecedented event since 2017. The North Korean missile prompted the Japanese authorities to issue a warning warning to residents of some areas, asking them to take cover, as trains movements were suspended in the north of the country. Temporarily.

Sirens were heard in Japan a while ago, warning of possible missiles.

A local radio station told people to take cover after the Japanese government issued a rare warning about a North Korean missile launch.pic.twitter.com/g9v443Eb58

- Iyad Al-Hamoud (@Eyaaaad) October 3, 2022

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the latter condemned North Korea's missile launch over Japan, calling it a "reckless act" and a violation of Security Council resolutions.

Yesterday, Tuesday, the White House said that President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to "reinforce Washington's firm commitment to Japan's security", after North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japanese airspace.

Tokyo described North Korea's missile test as an imminent threat to the region and the international community, and condemnations were issued from South Korea, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union.

In response to Pyongyang's missile test, the US military announced that US and Japanese fighter planes carried out exercises over the Sea of ​​Japan on Tuesday.

North Korea repeatedly accuses the United States of preparing an attack through its military exercises with South Korea, something both countries deny.