The latest ballistic missile test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is being viewed as a direct rejection of international efforts to curb its nuclear ambitions.

While the test failed, Pyongyang’s accelerating nuclear and missile activities are a concern of the international community and were the focus of a high-level meeting of the United Nations Security Council.  

CGTN’s Liling Tan reports. 

U.S. pushed for tougher sanctions and threatened military force.

China’s urging for dialogue was in response to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s calls to further isolate the DPRK by imposing new sanctions that would further cripple Pyongyang diplomatically and financially, with military force as an option.

Since 2006, the Security Council has adopted several resolutions demanding the DPRK stop its nuclear and missile activities, but those activities have accelerated. Pyongyang has already test-fired more than half a dozen ballistic missiles since the beginning of 2017. 

The U.S., which convened the high-level meeting, had called out other Security Council members for not fully implementing existing sanctions, taking careful aim at China. But China insists all parties should play a part in resolving the challenges on the Korean Peninsula.