That boosts the opportunity for the United States and South Korea to persuade Beijing to crack down on Chinese firms that trade with North Korea, even in the absence of formal new U.N. sanctions.
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He said the sanctions would be approved by the Cabinet later, and would also require legislative changes in parliament.
North Korea’s newly launched satellite, the first since 2012, is now in a stable orbit after having previously been tumbling out of control.
North Korea launched a long-range rocket Sunday, drawing strong condemnation from the worldwide community for what it sees as a test of its ballistic missile technology. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
Should the Sino-U.S. tensions escalate with the U.S. seeking to strengthen missile defense on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, China could use a “North Korea card” to turn geopolitical situations in its favor, Kim pointed out. USA intelligence had assessed that North Korea has expanded Yongbyon and restarted the plutonium production reactor there, he said.
“We have long assessed that Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities are intended for deterrence, global prestige and coercive diplomacy”, he said.
South Korean and Chinese media report that the first stage of the rocket disintegrated into around 270 fragments and fell onto the western waters of South Korea about seven minutes into the flight.
North Korea already faces wide-ranging sanctions from the United States and under existing U.N. resolutions is prohibited from trading in weapons and importing luxury goods.
Despite North Korea’s aggressive actions as of late, the nation claims the satellite is for observing Earth and has been launched for peaceful purposes.
While sanctions have not stopped the North’s rocket development, they likely limit what it can make or secure in large quantities of material, equipment and fuel that are needed to quickly make advances, experts said. No significant new sanctions were agreed to immediately, but the launch has also led to the South Korean government’s decision to work with the U.S. military in deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, a theater ballistic missile defense-which has also raised concerns with China.
South Korea’s government and companies over the years have invested more than one trillion won (RM3.4 billion) in the project.
The rocket is similar to the Unha-3 launched in December 2012 but is believed to have a range of 12,000km.
On Sunday, the Council did what it usually does after a provocative North Korean action, meeting in emergency session and calling North Korea’s actions destabilizing.
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Clapper said that in 2013, following its third nuclear test, the North had announced its intention to “refurbish and restart” facilities at its Yongbyon nuclear complex.
