The US has attacked Russia for continuing to strike deals with the North Korean regime, which in turn are used to bolster Kim Jong-Un’s hostile weapons programme.
President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have both called on Russia to do more to resolve the North Korean missile crisis.
Fred Fleitz, an ex-CIA analyst, has claimed that Russia’s involvement in North Korea is “absolutely unacceptable” and American will respond appropriately.
North Korea has conducted more than 20 ballistic-missile tests during 2017, including its most powerful nuclear explosion to date.
Mr Fleitz told Sky News: “It is absolutely necessary to put pressure on Russia. As we are getting China to crack down, it looks like Russia is throwing North Korea a lifeline.
“This is unacceptable given the threat of North Korea’s missile programs.”
Earlier this week, President Trump said that he had a “great” conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in which they discussed the North Korean crisis.
He said: “China is helping. Russia is not helping. We’d like to have Russia’s help, it is very important.”
Mr Tillerson later added a specific call for Russia to end its guest-worker programmes for thousands of North Korean workers.
The US diplomatic chief points to evidence that North Koreans work in Russia under a system that forces them to send most of their earnings back to the regime in Pyongyang.
The Secretary of State’s remarks is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to persuade countries to isolate North Korea by kicking out diplomats and cutting economic ties.
Mr Tillerson said this Russian cash is used to help fund the country’s nuclear and ballistic-missile programs.
He told the UN council: “Continuing to allow North labourers to toil in slave-like conditions inside Russia in exchange for wages used to fund nuclear-weapons programs calls into question Russia’s dedication as a partner for peace.”
Russia, in response, said that the US was one of the primary aggressors in the Korean crisis, pointing to the joint military exercises conducted by the United States and South Korea.
A Russian spokesman at the UN added that North Korea would not halt its nuclear and missile programs “while it feels a direct threat to its security”.