North Korea recently announced plans for a rocket launch that could take place as early as next week.
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“We hope all sides, including North Korea, can meet each other halfway, and should work hard together to push the North Korean nuclear issue onto the track of a negotiated resolution”.
Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced Thursday changes in seven flight paths between Japan and Southeast Asian capitals during the announced launch window.
Maritime firing drills were conducted in the eastern and western waters of the peninsula, the South Korean military said. Although Beijing has supported those measures, it points to North Korea’s continuing nuclear tests and missile launches as proof of their ineffectiveness.
In January, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China agreed with the USA that the United Nations could pass new resolutions in response to the latest nuclear test, but emphasized the resumption of dialogue with North Korea.
Citing diplomatic sources, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said Pyongyang may be also preparing for a ballistic missile test from a base on its east coast along with the rocket launch.
South Koreans watch a TV news program with a file footage about North Korea’s rocket launch plans, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016.
Masamichi Kyo, the son of Ho Jong Man, the chairman of Chosen Soren, fell foul of wide-ranging regulations imposed on imports from North Korea in October 2006 – part of a package of economic sanctions against the regime of Kim Jong Il as a result of its first underground nuclear test that same month. “There’s a good change this is going to turn into a “heavyweight battle’ between the USA and China for the time being”. China is reluctant to support strong sanctions.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se on Friday held a meeting with the US, Japanese, EU and Australian ambassadors over the issue.
According to the U.S. Forces Korea, elements from the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) and the 75th Ranger Regiment comprise the rotational special operations forces and will participate in the joint exercises with their Korean special operations partners.
It would be a sad irony if President Obama’s failure to enforce his red line in Syria spurred South Korea to cross a red line of its own.
Spokesman Moon Sang Gyun said South Korea is using Aegis-equipped destroyers, aircraft, sophisticated radars and other surveillance assets to monitor the North’s launch preparations.
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Nevertheless, Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at the Japan campus of Temple University, says that North Korea “hasn’t been an entirely innocent actor down the years by any means”.
