UNITED NATIONS — North Korea's U.N. ambassador defended his country's recent long-range missile launch in a rare appearance at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday where he also accused the United States of driving the situation in northeast Asia “to the brink of nuclear war.”
Kim Song told the council that Wednesday's test-flight of the developmental Hwasong-18 missile was a legitimate exercise of the North's right to self-defense. He said the United States was raising regional tensions with nuclear threats and deploying a nuclear-powered submarine to South Korea for the first time in 14 years.
Kim said the missile launch had “no negative effect on the security of a neighboring country,” pointing to Japan's announcement that the ICBM — which flew at a steep angle — landed in open waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
South Korea's U.N. Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook countered, asking: “How can an ICBM launch ever make neighboring countries appear safe?”
Diplomats said Kim's appearance was the first time a North Korean diplomat addressed the Security Council since 2017.
Hwang said each of North Korea's repeated ballistic missile launches allow the country to advance its technology toward its goal of having an arsenal of nuclear-armed weapons.
Immediately before the meeting, a statement from nine council members including the U.S. and Japan, joined by South Korea, was read to reporters…
