UNITED NATIONS: US envoy Elliott Abrams said Tuesday the Trump administration will seek a UN Security Council vote this week on a resolution calling for Venezuela’s government to let in humanitarian aid and to hold free elections, and then sparred with Russia over possible US military intervention in the politically divided country.
Abrams accused “armed gangs, thugs and criminals released from prisons” of being mobilized to control Venezuela’s borders — leading to the burning of humanitarian aid and Venezuelans being shot, beaten and killed as they tried to bring in food and medicine while President Nicolas Maduro “literally was dancing in Caracas.”
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza responded by accusing the United States of organizing and financing “a well-orchestrated operation” to violate his country’s sovereignty that Venezuelan armed forces and police “were able to contain ... without using any kind of deadly force.”
He claimed that “the aggression came from the Colombian side” and blamed opposition “thugs” and “bandits” for the violence, saying most of the injured were soldiers, police and other law enforcement personnel.
The opposing views of Saturday’s attempt by opposition leader Juan Guaido to deliver aid to Venezuelans facing an economic crisis and severe shortages of food and medicine reflected the deep divisions in the Security Council and among the UN’s 193 member states. Guaido is recognized as Venezuela’s interim president by the US and over 50 other countries.
Arreaza called on the Security Council to support a resolution that rejects “the threat of the use of force against the Venezuelan people, and to rule that out once and for all.”
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, whose country backs the Maduro government and opposes any interference in a country’s internal affairs, said it is “perfectly clear” that Washington’s sole aim in creating Saturday’s “humanitarian show” was “not resolving the problems of Venezuela, not caring for the people, but regime change, including with threats to do so via foreign intervention.”
Abrams, clearly angered, shot back saying: “I reject from start to finish, I reject from top to bottom, accusations of military interventions from a country that is occupying the territory of Georgia and Ukraine.”
Before the council meeting, he told reporters that US policy “is to use as much diplomatic and economic and political pressure as we can” along with the countries backing Guaido “to support the Venezuelan people’s desire for democracy.”
As for President Donald Trump’s statement that all options are on the table, he said, “presidents always say that, and rightly do.”
Abrams also accused Nebenzia of using “a lot of Cold War rhetoric” reminiscent of the former Soviet Union. The Russian ambassador retorted that Abrams “was an active participant in the Cold War.”
Arreaza reiterated that the Maduro government is waiting for the opposition to sit down and hold talks to find a solution without US or other interference. “There are elections maybe, there are other possible solutions, maybe,” he said.
Nebenzia challenged the United States to approve the same Security Council press statement that it recently issued on Haiti.
In the Haiti statement, the Security Council expressed concern about “violent demonstrations and the death of innocent civilians,” reaffirmed its commitment to work with the country’s government and people “toward a more secure and prosperous future” and underscored the importance of key “actors” to engage “in good faith” on political, social and economic issues.
Nebenzia said Russia will circulate a proposed press statement changing Haiti to Venezuela.
Abrams said that for Venezuela, “the solution to the humanitarian situation is to get a government that works for rather than against the people of Venezuela.”
The United States “will have a resolution this week which will certainly call for the admission of humanitarian aid into Venezuela” and free elections, he said.
US seeks vote on UN resolution to allow aid into Venezuela
US seeks vote on UN resolution to allow aid into Venezuela
- Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, whose country backs the Maduro government and opposes any interference in a country’s internal affairs
North Korean leader Kim inspects new warship, claims progress toward nuclear-armed navy
- Kim has hailed the development of Choe Hyon as a significant advancement toward his goal of expanding the operational range and preemptive strike capabilities of his nuclear-armed military
SEOUL, South Korea: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected his new destroyer for two straight days ahead of its commissioning and observed a test of cruise missiles fired from the warship, vowing to accelerate the nuclear-armament of his navy, state media said Thursday.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim, during his visits to the western shipyard of Nampo on Tuesday and Wednesday, also inspected the construction of a third destroyer of the same class as his 5,000-ton warship, the Choe Hyon, first unveiled in April 2025.
Kim has hailed the development of Choe Hyon as a significant advancement toward his goal of expanding the operational range and preemptive strike capabilities of his nuclear-armed military. State media says the ship is designed to handle various weapons systems, including antiair and anti-naval weapons, as well as nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles. South Korean military officials and experts say Choe Hyon was likely built with Russian assistance amid deepening military ties, but some have raised doubts about whether it’s ready for active service.
North Korea unveiled a second destroyer of the same class in May last year, but it was damaged during a botched launching ceremony at the northeastern port of Chongjin, triggering a furious reaction from Kim, who called the failure “criminal.” North Korea has said the new destroyer, named Kang Kon, was relaunched in June after repair, but outside experts have questioned whether the ship is fully operational.
After observing Choe Hyon’s sea trials on Tuesday, Kim said the ship met operational requirements and called it a symbol of the country’s expanding naval capabilities. He called for building two warships a year over the next five years of the same or higher class as the Choe Hyon.
Kim came back Wednesday to observe a test launch of cruise missiles from the Choe Hyon. State media published photos of him watching from shore as several projectiles rose from the vessel in plumes of white smoke and described the weapons as “strategic,” a term used for nuclear-capable systems.
After years of spurring ballistic missile development, Kim has shifted his focus more toward naval capabilities, including an ongoing construction of a nuclear-powered submarine. KCNA said the third destroyer under construction at the Nampo shipyard is expected to be completed by the ruling Workers’ Party’s founding anniversary in October.
Naval capabilities were also a key focus when Kim outlined his five-year military goals at last month’s Workers’ Party congress, which included calls for intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of being launched from underwater.
Kim on Tuesday claimed that his efforts to arm his navy with nuclear weapons were “making satisfactory” progress. He said those purported advancements would “constitute a radical change in defending our maritime sovereignty, something that we have not achieved for half a century.”
KCNA did not elaborate on what Kim meant. Some analysts say North Korea may be preparing to formally declare a maritime boundary that could encroach on waters controlled by rival South Korea.
As inter-Korean tensions worsen, Kim has repeatedly said he does not recognize the Northern Limit Line, drawn by the US-led UN Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The poorly drawn western sea boundary has been the site of several deadly naval clashes in past years.
At the party congress, Kim doubled down on plans to expand North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, which already is equipped with various weapons systems threatening the United States and US allies in Asia, and confirmed his hard-line view of rival South Korea.
But he left the door open for dialogue with the Trump administration, reiterating Pyongyang’s demand that Washington drop its insistence on denuclearization as a precondition for resuming long-stalled talks.
