In recent weeks, North Korea threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes against Washington and Seoul and test-fired short-range missiles and artillery into the sea in response to tough United Nations sanctions imposed over its nuclear test and rocket launch. North Korea previously launched two Scud missiles on March 10 and fired six rounds from a new 300-mm multiple rocket launcher on March 3.
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Pyongyang to “halt these inflammatory and escalatory actions”.
A US official confirmed the missile launches to CNN.
North Korea fired a ballistic missile, believed to be a medium-range Rodong model, into the Sea of Japan early Friday.
The North also claimed that it has succeeded in making nuclear warheads small enough to be mounted atop ballistic missiles.
A statement from the U.N.’s most powerful body after an urgent meeting called by the United States reiterated the council’s demand that North Korea comply with Security Council resolutions which prohibit all ballistic missile activity. The US State Department issued a statement calling on Pyongyang to refrain from any actions that could “further raise tensions”.
The continued repetition of provocation and crisis have led many, especially in South Korea, to downplay the reality of North Korea’s nuclear advancement and growing threat to regional peace and stability, said analyst Ahn Chan-il, of the World Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul. Abe also vows to “take all necessary measures”, including establishing warning and surveillance systems, to respond to any threatening situation North Korea might cause.
That would mark North Korea’s first test of a medium-range missile, one of which was capable of reaching Japan, since 2014.
Japan convened its national security council immediately after the missile firing and instructed relevant government ministries to work with South Korea and United States to collect and analyze information related to the firing.
Outside experts said it is the last major technology that North Korea must master to achieve its goal of developing a long-range missile capable of hitting the USA mainland.
Asked whether China was anxious the sanctions could affect “normal” business links between Chinese banks and North Korea, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said this was something China was “paying attention to”. And it comes during the annual South Korean-U.S. military drills which the North views as a rehearsal for an invasion and has strongly condemned.
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China has been North Korea’s main trade partner, but their alliance was set in stone during the 1950-53 Korean War when South Korea and the US fought on the other side. It also expressed its hopes what North Korea be a nuclear free country soon.
