N Korea accuses UN of ‘double standard’ on missile tests

North Korea on Monday accused the UN Security Council of double standards as its sanctions committee criticised the country’s recent missile test as a violation of United Nations resolutions.

North Korea launched a new type of tactical short-range ballistic missile last week, prompting Washington to request a gathering of the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) sanctions committee.

At the committee meeting on Friday, the United States called for imposing additional sanctions and tightening the implementation of existing measures, denouncing the test as a violation of UN resolutions, according to Jo Chol Su, director-general for international organisations at North Korea’s foreign ministry.

Jo said the meeting was “designed to negate the right of our state to self-defence”, warning it would devise a “countermeasure”.

“It constitutes a denial of sovereign state and an apparent double standard that UNSC takes issue, on the basis of the UN ‘resolutions’ – direct products of the US hostile policy,” Jo said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

“It does not make any sense that only our righteous self-defensive measure should be singled out for denunciation, when many other countries across the globe are firing all kinds of projectiles for the purpose of increasing their military strength.”

Pyongyang said on Friday it had launched a new type of short-range “tactical projectile” able to carry a payload of 2.5 tonnes, a day after the US, Japan and South Korea said that weapons tests had taken place off the country’s northeast coast.

Japan said the weapons tested were ballistic missiles, which landed in the sea. The North is banned from testing under UN sanctions.

Pyongyang avoided using the words “missile” or “ballistic” in its confirmation on the test, which was heavily criticised.

On Saturday, the North said the response to the test by the administration of US President Joe Biden revealed its “deep-seated hostility” to North Korea.