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.
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.
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.