(LEAD) Kim's sister denounces UNSC meeting on N. Korea's ICBM launch

▲ This March 2, 2019, file photo shows Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister and vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, as she visits the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi. (Yonhap)

▲ North Korea fires a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Dec. 18, 2023, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the following day, with its leader Kim Jong-un observing the launch. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) NK leader sister-UNSC

(LEAD) Kim's sister denounces UNSC meeting on N. Korea's ICBM launch

(ATTN: ADDS unification ministry's response in last two paras)

SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Yonhap) -- The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday lambasted a recent U.N. Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Pyongyang's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch and warned of further provocations.

Kim Yo-jong's criticism came as the UNSC gathered Tuesday to discuss North Korea's latest test-launch of a solid-fuel Hwasong-18 ICBM. During the meeting, the North lashed out at the United States and South Korea for infringing upon its right to self-defense.

"The UNSC, again, eliminated and tolerated the U.S. and the Republic of Korea's provocation both in rhetoric and action, a direct motive of sparking the DPRK's reaction," Kim said in an English-language statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.

DPRK is the acronym for the North's official name.

"I feel very unpleasant over the fact that the UNSC convened an open meeting according to the brigandish demand of the U.S. and its satellite countries and brought up the sovereign right of the DPRK into discussion, and strongly condemn it," she said.

Kim, who serves as the vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, accused the "U.S. and its vassal forces" of being the "root cause" of escalating regional tension and urged the UNSC to hold them accountable.

Kim hinted at further provocations against South Korea and the U.S.

"From now on, the hostile forces had better worry themselves about how the DPRK would define and regard the character of the coming scenarios for the military confrontation with the DPRK predicted by the U.S. and the ROK and with what mode the DPRK would respond to them," she said.

Tuesday's UNSC meeting ended with the council failing to reach a consensus amid opposition from China and Russia.

Ahead of the meeting, 10 countries -- South Korea, the U.S., Britain, France, Japan, Albania, Ecuador, Malta, Slovenia and Switzerland -- issued a strongly worded joint statement condemning the North's recent missile launches.

South Korea's unification ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, deplored Kim's statement.

"Talking about self-defense rights and double standards while frequently violating international peace and the UNSC resolutions, which all member countries have a duty to abide by according to the U.N. charter, is rejecting becoming a normal member of the international community," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

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