A week after North Korea tested ballistic missiles, the country assumed leadership of a top nuclear disarmament forum at the UN. South Korea, Japan, and the US had alleged the missiles are part of Pyongyang's nuclear programme.
The Nuclear Disarmament forum is a conference held in Geneva thrice a year to prevent a nuclear war. It helped with disarmament in 1996 but has not been proven to make any policies since then. North Korea will chair the forum for the next three weeks.
The US said North Korea assuming the Presidency questions the effectiveness of the forum, reported BBC. State Department spokesperson Ned Price pointed out that the North Korean regime has been trying to destroy the idea that there can be peace and cooperation without nuclear weapons.
A joint statement by several western states said they are concerned about North Korea's "reckless actions" that continue to undermine the value of the Conference on Disarmament. Australian Ambassador Amanda Gorely read the concerns of 48 countries and the European Union at a new session.
She added that there is no such decision to boycott North Korea's presidency but wanted to express concerns about North Korea's violation of numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions.
North Korea said the points of criticism are noted and justified the nuclear weapons as means of self defence. North Korea's ambassador to the UN Kim Song said the country is committed to contributing to global disarmament.
Earlier this year, North Korea was accused of testing an intercontinental ballistic missile banned by the UN Security Council. Reports speculate that North Korea is preparing for a seventh nuclear test.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un tested several missiles following US President Biden's visit to South Korea and Japan. The UN already has imposed several sanctions to prevent it from conducting more nuclear tests. A resolution on the matter was vetoed by China and Russia.