The foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea put aside frictions over territorial disputes and wartime history to sharply criticize North Korea’s latest submarine missile test on Wednesday in a rare display of unity. The U.S. Strategic Command said it tracked the North Korean submarine launch of the presumed KN-11 missile into the Sea of Japan.
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Pyongyang conducted another ballistic missile test from a submarine today.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon found the launch “deeply troubling”, and urged North Korea to de-escalate the situation and return to talks on denuclearization, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Meanwhile, the officials in Washington said they are ready to defend South Korea and Japan from any provocation.
Wang said the three neighbors, despite problems and difficulties among them, should work together to deal with regional threats like North Korea’s missile and nuclear ambitions.
Yonhap reported Tuesday that North Korean soldiers in recent weeks had laid fresh landmines in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North Korea and South Korea.
North Korea already has a variety of land-based missiles that can hit South Korea and Japan, including US military bases in those countries. These missiles are of particular concern because of the mobility of submarines and the ease with which launch preparation can remain undetected.
Wednesday’s launch came two days after the USA and South Korea began their 12-day Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises, prompting North Korean threats of retaliation for the military drills, which it views as an invasion rehearsal.
Officials at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defence Ministry confirmed that the ballistic missile was sacked at around 5:30 am (2030 GMT) from near the coastal city of Sinpo where a submarine base is located.
The launch was the latest in a series of missile, rocket and other weapon tests this year by North Korea, which is pushing to acquire reliable weapons that are capable of striking targets as far away as the continental United States.
The Foreign Ministry of China, North Korea’s last major ally, called for all sides to avoid actions that increase tensions.
North Korea threatened Monday to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike in protest of the exercises.
The missile tested has an operational range of about 500 kilometers.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry warned that the North’s pursuit of weapons programs would only invite more sanctions, deepen its worldwide isolation, and eventually speed up its collapse.
North Korea, who are banned from firing ballistic missiles by the United Nations, launched the missile from a submarine in the Sea of Japan off Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province. North Korea usually responds to the regular South Korea-U.S. military drills with weapons tests and fiery warlike rhetoric.
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He also said Japan will soon deliver the 1 billion yen (US$9.97 million) to the South Korean foundation in charge of compensation projects for Korean women sexually enslaved by Japanese troops in World War II, citing the Japanese government’s approval of the expenditure earlier in the day.
