NK criticizes UN, US for raising Pyongyang's human rights issue

PYONGYANG [North Korea]: North Korea on Sunday slammed the United States and United Nations for having raised the issue of Pyongyang's human rights issue recently at the UN Security Council and the regime's missile provocation, Yonhap news agency reported citing North Korea's state media.

On Friday, the US co-hosted an informal meeting highlighting the human rights violations in North Korea at the UNSC. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized North Korea's recent test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile as a violation of UNSC resolutions.

In response to the meeting, North Korea's mission to the UN in a statement said that Pyongyang "will counter the illegal 'human rights' campaign by the US and its followers with the most powerful means," Yonhap news agency reported citing Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The mission stressed that it defines the "pressure campaign" as a violation of the dignity and sovereignty of the North and "resolutely denounces and rejects it," as per the KCNA report.

Reacting to UN Secretary-General's statement, Pyongyang's foreign ministry accused Antonio Guterres of "adding fuel to the flames" and "far from helping easing the tension in the Korean Peninsula and the region," Yonhap news agency cited KCNA report.

In a separate statement, North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister for international organizations said, "I think it is good for defusing tension and for himself that the UN secretary-general remains silent rather than meddling in the Korean Peninsula issue as now."

Meanwhile, Pyongyang fired a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) towards the East Sea on Sunday, Yonhap News Agency reported citing the South Korean military, Yonhap news agency reported.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from the Tongchang-ri area on the country's west coast at 11:05 am (local time). It said that the missile flew for around 800 kilometers, as per the news report.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) in a statement condemned the North Korea's ballistic missile launches as an act of provocation that affects peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and the international community as well, as per the news report.

"We strongly condemn the North's series of ballistic missile launches as an act of significant provocation that harms peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula, but also in the international community, and a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions," the JCS said in a statement as per the news report.

It further said that allies will conduct their combined military drills in a "high-intensity" and "thorough" manner, while vowing to maintain a firm readiness posture based on capabilities to respond to any North Korean provocations.