UNO: On Monday, the United States suggested that the UN Security Council condemn North Korea's ballistic missile launches and urge Pyongyang to engage in diplomacy, warning that the 15-member body's inaction had become dangerous.

Insisting that applying more pressure to North Korea would be counterproductive, China and Russia oppose any further action taken by the Security Council. In May of last year, the two voted against a move by the US-led UN to impose additional sanctions on North Korea.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, stated that "the reality is that those who shield the DPRK (North Korea) from the consequences of its escalating missile tests put the Asian region and the entire world at risk of conflict."

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The council's inaction is more than embarrassing. She urged the Security Council to adopt a formal presidential statement, which is the next step down from a resolution, to denounce North Korea's action and call for diplomacy, declaring that it was dangerous.

Such claims require unanimous agreement. The council last took action regarding North Korea in December 2017 when it passed a resolution to tighten sanctions in response to Pyongyang's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes.

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Repeated council meetings and demands for more sanctions against North Korea, according to China's deputy UN ambassador Dai Bing, "neither embody the constructive role of easing the situation nor bring new ideas conducive to solving the problem."

Dai warned the council that "exclusively pursuing and increasing sanctions will only result in a dead end." "China genuinely wants the peninsula to be stable rather than chaotic. All parties are urged by China to maintain composure and restraint.

After North Korea fired off two more ballistic missiles, the Security Council convened on Monday. The strong sister of leader Kim Jong Un said Pyongyang's use of the Pacific as a "firing range" would depend on how US forces behaved.

The launches on Monday occurred just days after North Korea launched an ICBM into the waters off the coast of Japan, prompting the United States to hold separate air exercises with Japan and South Korea on Sunday.

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Two-thirds of the Security Council's members and South Korea jointly issued a statement following the meeting denouncing North Korea's missile launches, which Thomas-Greenfield read.

The statement said, "We will not remain silent as the DPRK develops its illegal nuclear and missile capabilities, endangering international peace and security.