UN chief takes digs at Trump over comments on North Korea
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Tuesday for statesmanship to avoid war with North Korea and criticized world leaders who stoke resentment over refugees for political gain, two digs at U.S. President Donald Trump.
In his first address to the annual 193-member U.N. General Assembly since taking office in January, Guterres said the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile program must be solved through a political process.
“This is the time for statesmanship,” said the former prime minister of Portugal. “We must not sleepwalk our way into war.”
Trump has warned North Korea that military action was an option for the United States as Pyongyang has carried out a series of tests toward developing the ability to target the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile.
The U.N. Security Council has unanimously imposed nine rounds of sanctions on North Korea since 2006 and Guterres appealed for the 15-member body to maintain its unity on North Korea.
Guterres, a former head of the U.N. refugee agency, also spoke of being “pained to see the way refugees and migrants have been stereotyped and scapegoated - and to see political figures stoke resentment in search of electoral gain.”
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Shortly after taking office in January, Trump moved to put a 120-day halt on the U.S. refugee program, bar Syrian refugees indefinitely and impose a 90-day suspension on people from six predominantly Muslim countries. He says the move is needed to prevent terrorist attacks.
“I myself am a migrant, as many of you are. But no-one expected me to risk my life on a leaky boat or cross a desert in the back of a truck to find employment outside my country of birth,” he said. “Safe migration cannot be limited to the global elite.”
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Slideshow (2 Images)
In his first address to the annual 193-member U.N. General Assembly since taking office in January, Guterres said the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile program must be solved through a political process.
“This is the time for statesmanship,” said the former prime minister of Portugal. “We must not sleepwalk our way into war.”
Trump has warned North Korea that military action was an option for the United States as Pyongyang has carried out a series of tests toward developing the ability to target the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile.
The U.N. Security Council has unanimously imposed nine rounds of sanctions on North Korea since 2006 and Guterres appealed for the 15-member body to maintain its unity on North Korea.
Guterres, a former head of the U.N. refugee agency, also spoke of being “pained to see the way refugees and migrants have been stereotyped and scapegoated - and to see political figures stoke resentment in search of electoral gain.”
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Shortly after taking office in January, Trump moved to put a 120-day halt on the U.S. refugee program, bar Syrian refugees indefinitely and impose a 90-day suspension on people from six predominantly Muslim countries. He says the move is needed to prevent terrorist attacks.
“I myself am a migrant, as many of you are. But no-one expected me to risk my life on a leaky boat or cross a desert in the back of a truck to find employment outside my country of birth,” he said. “Safe migration cannot be limited to the global elite.”
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Slideshow (2 Images)
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