US push for UN censure of North Korea appears to stall -diplomats

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, attends a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on "Effective multilateralism through the defence of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations," at the U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., April 24, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

U.N. Security Council negotiations on a U.S. push for the 15-member body to condemn North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches appear to have stalled after diplomats said China and Russia had stopped engaging.

Council members have been discussing a U.S.-drafted formal statement, seen by Reuters, that has to be unanimously agreed upon. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in February she would pursue a formal presidential statement - one step below a resolution - to condemn North Korea's actions and urge diplomacy.