Russia and China reject ‘shirking’ US calls to help rein in North Korea telling President Trump ‘you started this, you end it’
RUSSIA and China today united to reject US calls for them to rein in North Korea telling outspoken President Trump "you started this, you end it".
The US said the burden for tackling Kim Jong-un should fall on its main ally China and Russia - which also has strong ties to the rogue state.
But China suggested the US was just passing the buck while Russia condemned "aggressive" US rhetoric for stirring up trouble on the Korean Peninsula in the first place.
Russia condemned the latest missile test over mainland Japan, but also criticised Donald Trump's administration for its "aggressive" role in the crisis.
Vladimir Putin's foreign ministry condemned North Korea's test as "illegal" but quickly added: "Regrettably, aggressive rhetoric is the only thing coming from Washington."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments after Pyongyang fired a missile that flew over Japan's northern Hokkaido and into the Pacific Ocean.
"In Russia we are deeply concerned about these provocative launches which are further stoking tensions. Clearly demonstrating that our position is that such launches are unacceptable is the most tangible thing we can do right now," said Peskov.
"Judging by the United Nations' Security Council, that is a unanimous point of view which unites Security Council members."
China also condemned the test but was also didn't hold back at pointing the finger of blame at Washington.
It accused the US of being "irresponsible" by blaming Beijing for not doing enough to combat Kim's escalating missile programme.
After the North's latest test, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on China to use the oil it supplies to North Korea as leverage to pressure Kim into reconsidering his nuclear programme.
But Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing had already made "enormous sacrifices at a great price" by implementing new UN Security Council sanctions.
"The core lies in a conflict between the DPRK and the US. The focal point of the contradiction is not China," said Hua.
"China is not the driver behind the escalation of the tensions. China also does not hold the key to the Korean peninsula issue. The initiators of a trouble should end it.
"It's irresponsible and unhelpful for the settlement of the issue to unjustly blame others and shirk responsibilities in any form."
China and Russia backed an eighth set of sanctions at the UN Security Council after Pyongyang's largest nuclear test, banning it from trading in textiles and restricting oil imports.
Washington had called for an oil embargo, but it softened its stance in order to secure the backing of the mighty communist pair.
"China supplies North Korea with most of its oil. Russia is the largest employer of North Korean forced labour," Tillerson said.
"China and Russia must indicate their intolerance for these reckless missile launches by taking direct actions of their own."
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