Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield
U.S. Representative to the United Nations
New York, New York
August 25, 2023
AS DELIVERED
I shall now make a further statement in my capacity as Representative of the United States.
We reject the disingenuous claims by Russia and China that the U.S. is acting in a hostile manner. U.S.-allied military exercises are routine, they are lawful, and they are defensive in nature. And unlike the DPRK’s ballistic missile launches, they are not prohibited by UN Security Council resolutions.
And as a reminder, the DPRK has actually conducted six ICBM launches in 2022 before the U.S. and ROK resumed our largescale exercises in August of that year.
Colleagues, I want to recall what I said in my statement, that we should pay attention to what other members of the Council are saying. Thirteen out of 15 countries on this Council called for an end to the development of nuclear weapons by the DPRK. Thirteen out of 15 called for an end to their tests. And 13 out of 15 called for unity in this Council. If there is not unity in this Council, it’s not the 13 – it’s the two. And I do join in calling for unity of this Council.
###
