While the US was initially one of the countries that wanted a UN Security Council meeting on North Korea’s human rights situation, the Trump Administration has changed its mind, and is now refusing to sign the authorization, effectively blocking the meeting.
Officials are not saying why they decided to block the UN meeting, but North Korea warned last week that they would view the meeting as a “provocation,” and this gives the appearance that the US is trying to keep them placated.
The State Department took their comments a different way, saying they still support a meeting that would be a comprehensive review of North Korea’s missile firing since May, even though President Trump has long insisted he didn’t object to those tests. That meeting is set for Wednesday.
The State Department is suggesting that recent missile launches were an “escalatory DPRK provocation,” and it seems either way the US is going to use a UN Security Council meeting to rail against North Korea.
Though some speculated blocking the human rights meeting was a sign that the US had not given up on nuclear talks, they seem to be continuing to avoid negotiating directly with North Korea.
US Blocks UN Security Council Meeting on North Korea
North Korea warned meeting would be a provocation
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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