The United States felt that it was time for emergency action after the country of North Korea released that they had done yet another nuclear weapons test- making this 15 for the year. This most recent launch, done on Saturday, was a submarine ballistic missile. Another missile test, done in March, was the first intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017. It’s thought that the missile tested would have the power to reach the US mainland from North Korea. The emergency UN Security Council was called in order to continue discussions on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. North Korea, on the other hand, is suspected to be planning another missile test for its most northeastern testing facility, which would be the first explosion of a nuclear weapon since 2017.
Although the United States has called this United Nations meeting in order to continue to brainstorm sanctions and repercussions for North Korea, it is thought that any real action against the country will not pass. This is because China and Russia are members of the UN, and both are currently pursuing domination of smaller countries nearby, putting them at odds with the other members of the UN. For China and Russia, North Korea’s missile testing is a convenient distraction from their attempted takeovers of Taiwan and Ukraine, respectively. North Korea aims to continue testing of ballistic missiles until they are recognized as a nuclear state, which would somewhat restrict the United State’s ability to place extensive sanctions and restrictions on them.
Additionally, the alliances between China, North Korea, and Russia means that they will be slow to take any action against each other on a global level. The interesting thing about this alliance is that it is born mostly out of being the current ‘social outcasts’ of the globe. I can’t help but wonder if when/if Russia fails its mission to capture Ukraine, China (and North Korea, in tangent) will pull out of relations with Russia and perhaps each other to avoid the repercussions each country faces. But that also means that each country, in my opinion, will do as much as they can to see that the other countries will not fail.