US Confronts China, Russia Over N. Korean Missiles

Facts

On Friday, the US accused China and Russia of protecting North Korea (DPRK) from UN Security Council action, saying the two countries "bent over backwards" to justify Pyongyang's ballistic missile launches.
The 15-member Security Council failed to agree on a joint statement denouncing the Kim regime over its recent missile drills, with a separate group of countries — including the US, the UK, and France — issuing their own condemnation.
The DPRK has long been banned from conducting nuclear and Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) tests, with the UN issuing sanctions on Pyongyang over the years to deter funding for those projects. However, in May, Russia and China vetoed a US-led push for more sanctions and instead advocated for reduced ones.
China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun said that the DPRK's latest missile tests are a direct response to US-South Korea joint military exercises, adding that one of the US's main goals is to end the DPRK regime.
Russia’s Deputy UN Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva echoed China, adding that the US-South Korea military exercises are “essentially a rehearsal" for attacking Pyongyang.
According to US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, North Korea has tested a "staggering 59 ballistic missile launches this year," including 13 since Oct. 27 and one that made what she called an "unprecedented impact" about 30 miles off of South Korean shores.

Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Vox. It seems the war of words and military drills between the US and North Korea won't be coming to an end any time soon. While Kim Jong-un launches more and more nuclear bomb tests, the US has only escalated its joint-military exercises with South Korea, further angering the North and pushing it into the arms of Russia and China. It seems US interference has only served to solidify a trilateral anti-Western alliance.
Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by DW. Washington has demonstrated goodwill toward Pyongyang in the hopes of creating an environment conducive towards disarmament talks for four years. However, as North Korea has failed to make good on its promises — resuming its missile tests and further developing its nuclear program — this course correction is necessary for the restoration of the readiness of the South and its allies for an attack from the North.