Earlier this month, the UN Security Council introduced new sanctions against North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s January hydrogen bomb test, as well as the launch, a month later, of a long-range rocket to allegedly place a satellite into orbit.
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Kim praised the country’s nuclear scientists for mastering the miniaturisation technique, which would allow warheads to be fitted onto ballistic missiles and create a “true” nuclear deterrent. As the KCNA report and accompanying photo are the only evidence proving this claim, it is unclear whether North Korea does possess this technology.
With the exception of Kaesong, economic cooperation between North and South effectively ended in 2010 after a South Korean naval corvette was sunk by what Seoul said was a North Korean submarine. It said that the army and people of North Korea reserved the right to “make military counter-action for preemptive attack” and “launch an all-out offensive” on the United States and South Korea.
The new resolution, approved after lengthy negotiations between Chinese and USA diplomats, significantly expands sanctions against North Korean individuals and entities involved with the insular country’s nuclear weapons programme. North Korea hates the massive military drills by Seoul and Washington, calling them invasion preparation.
The firings of short-range missiles and artillery shells in the past week were seen as an apparent show of anger at the joint US-South Korea military exercises that kicked off on Monday in the largest-ever scale.
It said North Korea will also “completely liquidate all assets of South Korean firms and related institutions left behind in our region ” , referring to the joint Mount Kumgang tourism resort, closed since 2008, and the Kaesong joint industrial complex, which was shut down abruptly last month.
US State Department spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on Kim’s claim to have miniaturised nuclear warheads and accused him of “provocative rhetoric” .
Its development of smaller nuclear weapons and long-range missiles that could be used to deliver them to targets overseas has always been a matter of concern and could potentially shake up the security balance in Asia.
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Tensions have been especially high this week as USA and South Korean forces hold their annual joint military exercises known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle. Official pictures were released showing Kim beside a round silver object resembling a part of a warhead.
