On July 6, the Russian delegation to the United Nations released an official statement, criticizing Washington’s handling of the North Korean crisis. In their statement, Russian diplomats disputed U.S. allegations that North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile against Japan on July 4, saying rather, that Pyongyang had launched an intermediate-ranged rocket. Russia also opposed U.N. proposals for tighter economic sanctions against Pyongyang.
Numerous Western analysts, like Bloomberg View columnist Leonid Bershidsky and Council of Foreign Relations fellow Van Jackson, have attempted to explain Russia’s conduct by highlighting Moscow’s economic and geopolitical links to Pyongyang.
