In the meeting, Ms Park said: “We are in a situation in which we can not predict what provocations North Korea might conduct to break away from isolation and to consolidate the regime”. Meanwhile, North Korea, which conducted a fourth nuclear test in January in contravention of U.N. Security Council resolutions, can learn from a deal struck between Iran and world powers to freeze its nuclear programme, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.
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North Korea looks set to replace its ambassador to Germany, Ri Si-hong, as South Korean media outlets speculated Wednesday that the envoy was being blamed for the German government’s response to the North’s nuclear test and rocket launch earlier this year.
While North Korea rejects worldwide pressure on its strategic missiles and atomic arms programs, it is sensitive to criticism of human rights. North Korea has conducted four nuclear tests.
Numerous analysts have predicted Pyongyang may carry out a fifth test just before a rare ruling party congress next month, at which leader Kim Jong-Un is expected to take credit for pushing the country’s nuclear weapons program to new heights.
North Korea would face tougher sanctions if it carries out yet another nuclear test, including greater restrictions on its labor exports, the top State Department official on Asian affairs was quoted as saying Tuesday. Reportedly ahead of the 7 Congress of the Workers’ Party to be held in May this year, the country is placing even tighter controls on its citizens, with North Hamgyong province and Yanggang province being the hardest hit, due to their proximity to China.
China needs to understand that it is a matter of life or death for South Koreans to protect themselves from possible North Korean nuclear attack and that Beijing should engage in talks over the possible deployment of a new U.S. anti-missile system there, a senior South Korean official said on Monday. He added that he could not see a time in the foreseeable future when the USA could or would remove it. The general also stressed that South Korea is shouldering a “significant load” of the costs for keeping the roughly 29-thousand US troops stationed in the country.
What’s more, Pyongyang’s major ally China has also shown more support for the sanctions as North Korea’s provocative acts continue.
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“Japan and the United States are facing the immediate challenge of the DPRK (Democrtic People’s Republic of Korea) and its ongoing provocative actions with its nuclear and missile program”, Blinken was quoted as telling Kishida during talks between the pair earlier Monday.
