North Korea has accused UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of trying to "quarrel" with Pyongyang because Portugal has lifted international sanctions against the country over its plans to acquire firearms. and ballistic missiles, judging that they are putting pressure on the North Korean leadership.
North Korea's permanent mission to the United Nations said Guterres made "bold" statements during his speech last week at the Munich Security Summit.
"This is nothing short of an absurd sophistication, inappropriate for his role as Secretary-General of the United Nations," which "makes us wonder if he is a kind of thumbs-up representing the United States," the North Korean delegation said in a statement. at the UN.
In his speech, Guterres stressed that "it is important to note that the unity of the Security Council has contributed (…) to exerting very significant pressure on North Korea through sanctions, and in my opinion this pressure is absolutely necessary to continue ".
The Security Council has imposed sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to drain funding for Pyongyang's armaments program.
has banned exports of coal, iron, lead, textiles and seafood, and imposed restrictions on imports of crude oil and refined by-products.
The North Korean mission to the UN also urged Guterres to press the UN to welcome "the intergovernmental dialogue process" and to "discourage other countries from blocking it."
Speaking in Munich, Antonio Guterres said: "Even if relations between South Korea and North Korea improve, let us be clear, this is not the central issue we are facing. "The central issue remains that of denuclearization."