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China and Russia have 'responsibility' for North Korea nuclear threat, says Tillerson

29 July 2017 08:29 (UTC +04:00)

The United States has accused China and Russia of bearing “unique and special responsibility” for North Korea’s “belligerent” pursuit of nuclear weapons, after Pyongyang tested its latest ballistic missile.

North Korea conducted its second intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test late on Friday in what it called a warning to the “beast-like US imperialists”. It came less than a month after its first such experiment, on 4 July.

The US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, hit back on Saturday, describing North Korea’s launch as a “blatant violation” of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.

Tillerson also pointed the finger of blame at Beijing and Moscow.

“As the principal economic enablers of North Korea’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile development program, China and Russia bear unique and special responsibility for this growing threat to regional and global stability,” he said in a statement.