U.N. chief says onus on North Korea to return to talks

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi greets U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres before chairing a ministerial meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the promotion and strengthening of the rule of law in the maintenance of international peace and security, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, January 12, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar

(Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that the onus is on North Korea to return to denuclearization talks, a rebuttal of Chinese calls for the United States to show Pyongyang more flexibility.

Guterres also told the U.N. Security Council meeting on the rule of law that attacks on the rights of women and girls by the Taliban-led administration was "creating gender-based apartheid."