North Korea on Friday carried out what
appeared to be its second test this month of
an intercontinental ballistic missile,
doubling down on its threat to develop a
nuclear strike capability against the US
mainland in the face of severe warnings
from President Donald Trump.
South Korean, US and Japanese monitors all
detected the unusual late-night test, with
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying
the missile may have landed within Japan’s
maritime exclusive economic zone.
“We assess that this missile was an
intercontinental ballistic missile,” Pentagon
spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said,
adding that the projectile travelled about
1,000 kilometers (620 miles) before
splashing down in the Sea of Japan.
However, the Russian military said the
launch appeared to be a “medium-range”
ballistic missile.
The launch came a day after North Korea
celebrated what it calls “Victory Day” — the
anniversary of the end of the 1950-53
Korean War. Pyongyang regularly times its
missile tests to coincide with symbolic
dates.
Condemnation was swift with Japan’s top
government spokesman, calling Friday’s test
another clear violation of UN resolutions.
“Our country will never tolerate it and made
a severe protest to North Korea, condemning
it in the strongest words,” Suga said.
In Seoul and Tokyo, the governments
convened meetings of their national security
councils.
South Korean President Moon Jae-In said
Seoul would respond with a “strong military
show of force,” including joint South Korea-
US missile tests, according to a statement
from the presidential Blue House.
– Further sanctions –
US military and South Korean intelligence
officials had in recent days warned that
North Korea appeared to be prepping
another missile test — likely of an ICBM.
The ICBM test on July 4 had triggered
global alarm, with experts saying the missile
had a theoretical range to reach Alaska.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, who
personally oversaw that launch on
America’s Independence Day, described it as
a gift to the “American bastards.”
It sent tensions soaring in the region,
pitting Washington, Tokyo and Seoul
against China, Pyongyang’s last remaining
major ally.
The United States instigated a push at the
United Nations for tougher measures
against Pyongyang, with US President
Donald Trump saying he was considering a
“pretty severe” response.
Joel Wit, a senior fellow at the US-Korea
Institute at Johns Hopkins University and an
expert on the North’s nuclear weapons
programme, said Friday’s launch confirmed
time was running out for Washington to find
a way out of a pressing security crisis.
“Another North Korean test of what appears
to be a missile that can reach the United
States further emphasises the need for the
Trump administration to focus like a laser
on this increasingly dangerous situation,”
Wit said on the institute’s 38 North website.
Friday’s launch came just hours after the US
Senate passed bipartisan sanctions on
Pyongyang, and Japan slapped its own
sanctions on two Chinese firms, including a
bank accused of laundering North Korean
cash.
North Korea’s accelerated drive towards a
credible nuclear strike capability poses a
thorny policy challenge for Trump, who is at
loggerheads with Beijing over how to handle
Kim Jong-Un’s regime.
“It’s clear Kim Jong-Un remains undeterred
by the threat of tightened sanctions, and is
not listening to its one major ally, China.
The longer the world waits to deal with
North Korea, the more advanced
Pyongyang’s arsenal will become,” said
Jean Lee at the Wilson Center thinktank.
Trump has repeatedly urged Pyongyang’s
chief backer Beijing to rein the Stalinist
state in, but Beijing insists dialogue is the
only practical way forward.
There remain doubts whether the North can
miniaturise a nuclear weapon to fit a missile
nose cone, or if it has mastered the
technology needed for the projectile to
survive re-entry into the Earth’s
atmosphere.
But since Kim came to power there has been
a series of technical advances, including
three nuclear tests and a string of missile
launches.
– ‘Frustrating’ –
Reacting to Friday’s launch, United Nations
spokesman Farhad Haq said it was
“frustrating” that the UN secretary general’s
calls for all sides to de-escalate tensions on
the Korean peninsula had gone unheeded.
In an apparent reference to China, Haq said
it was important for all parties to “use their
particular influence to help resolve this.”
In all, six sets of UN sanctions have been
imposed on North Korea since it first tested
an atomic device in 2006, but two
resolutions adopted last year significantly
toughened the sanctions regime.
Meanwhile, the US military is preparing to
conduct another test of a missile-intercept
system in Alaska, perhaps as soon as
Saturda
Source: vanguardngr
No comments:
Post a Comment