• The 15-member Security Council met on Wednesday to discuss North Korea.
• China and Russia opposed a public council meeting, stating that it would hinder efforts to defuse the crisis.
• In May, China and Russia rejected a U.S.-led effort to impose additional sanctions on North Korea.

Wednesday, the United States accused China and Russia of aiding North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by shielding Pyongyang from efforts to enhance U.N. Security Council sanctions imposed in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

“The DPRK (North Korea) has enjoyed blanket protection from two members of this council,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said. “In short, two permanent members of the Security Council have enabled Kim Jong Un.”

North Korea, which is armed with nuclear weapons, launched a ballistic missile on Tuesday that flew over Japan for the first time in five years, prompting a warning for Japanese citizens to seek cover. The 15-member council met on Wednesday to discuss North Korea.

China and Russia opposed a public council meeting, stating that it would hinder efforts to defuse the crisis.

Nine Security Council members, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Albania, Brazil, India, Ireland, Norway, and the United Arab Emirates, issued a unified statement Wednesday night condemning North Korea’s missile launch.

Geng Shuang, China’s deputy U.N. ambassador, stated that the Security Council must play a constructive role “instead of relying solely on strong rhetoric or pressure.”

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“Discussions and deliberations should contribute to a detente, rather than fueling escalation. They should promote the resumption of dialogue instead of widening differences and forge unity instead of creating divisions,” he said.

In May, China and Russia rejected a U.S.-led effort to impose additional U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its resumed ballistic missile tests, visibly dividing the U.N. Security Council for the first time since Pyongyang was first punished in 2006.

Anna Evstigneeva, Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, told the Security Council that “introducing new sanctions against the DPRK is a dead end” with “zero results.”

“We are convinced that the U.N. and Security Council mechanisms need to be used to support the inter-Korean dialogue and multilateral negotiations rather than becoming an impediment to them,” she said.

The Security Council has for years prohibited North Korea from conducting nuclear tests and launching ballistic missiles and has increased sanctions against Pyongyang in an effort to cut off funds for these activities.

In recent decades, veto powers China and Russia proposed easing U.N. sanctions on North Korea for humanitarian reasons and to encourage Pyongyang back to stalled international denuclearization talks.

“This is a clear effort by China and Russia to reward DPRK for their bad actions and cannot be taken seriously by this council,” said Thomas-Greenfield, referring to North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

China and Russia criticized the United States and South Korea’s joint military exercises for inciting North Korea. According to Thomas-Greenfield, there is “no equivalency between these two tasks.”

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