Russian Envoy Calls for 'Innovative' UNSC Response to New N Korea Missile Launch

29.08.2017 08:40

Russian Envoy Calls for 'Innovative' UNSC Response to New N Korea Missile Launch

The UN Security Council must be innovative when developing approaches to North Korea and not limit responses solely to sanctions, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya told reporters on Tuesday.

"We were saying then that sanctions alone are not the way out of it. We have to be innovative and inventive, but we don’t want to prejudge the Council’s considerations later tonight, so I think we better talk after that," Nebenzya said.

The Council will hold emergency consultations on the issue of North Korea convened at the request of the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Following the North Korean launch of a projectile Japan considers to be the Hwasong-12 ballistic missile which flew over Japan before falling into the Pacific Ocean 1,180 kilometers east of Japan's northern island Hokkaido, US President Donald Trump said that "all options are on the table" as a reponse to the move, while US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said that "something serious has to happen."

Nebenzya went on to comment Trump's statement by saying that it is troubling as the situation on the peninsula is extremely volatile.

"Of course, it’s troubling because, you know, tensions are high and whose nerves are stronger we don’t know yet. Let’s see, let’s see what the Security Council says later tonight," Nebenzya said.

Tensions around Pyongyang's missile program have flared up this summer, following the adoption of the UN Security Council sanctions, which led to North Korea trading threats and warnings with the United States.

Russia and China have repeatedly called on Washington and Pyongyang to resume a dialogue and proposed a "double freeze" plan to settle the conflict urging North Korea to stop nuclear tests and calling on the US and South Korea to refrain from joint drills.