The government of Kim Jong Un fired three ballistic missiles off North Korea’s east coast Monday, timed as a show of force as the world’s powers gathered at the G20 meeting in China.
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The KCNA reported that Kim “stressed the need to continue making miraculous achievements in bolstering up the nuclear force” in its historic year that started with the country’s test of a hydrogen bomb.
North Korea regularly engages in missile and rocket tests, especially when the world’s eyes are turned to Northeast Asia.
(., ) President Obama reiterated Washington’s full commitment to protect its ally stressing that North Korea’s nuclear programs threaten not only South Korea and the US itself, but also other allies like Japan. According to a report by the US Defense Technical Information Center, THAAD tests show it achieved its lowest possible rating against intermediate-range missiles of the type Pyongyang appears to have been developing.
Pyongyang has conducted a fourth nuclear test and a series of missile tests this year in defiance of United Nations sanctions, prompting South Korea to announce plans to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system to counter such threats. “And President Park and I agreed that the entire worldwide community needs to implement these sanctions fully and hold North Korea accountable”.
The North’s state-run Korea Central News Agency said Tuesday Kim Jong-un was present for the launches, which it said were part of an exercise, and was satisfied that they went according to plan.
The UNSC slapped its toughest sanctions on Pyongyang in March over its fourth nuclear test in January and long-range rocket launch in the following month.
Obama called the latest missile launches “provocations”.
The White House noted the USA remains committed to moving ahead with the planned deployment of a major anti-missile system in South Korea.
What action the council takes remains to be seen and a lot depends on China, North Korea’s neighbor and only major ally, though ties have frayed over the nuclear and missile tests and what many outsiders see as other provocations in recent years.
The United Nations Security Council will meet early Tuesday to consider a response to the latest missile launches by North Korea, diplomats said. Pyongyang once again launched its Rodong missiles on Monday.
Delury said that while the Chinese “recognize that something has to be done about North Korea”, they view the THAAD system as “killing a chicken with an ax”.
The country’s leader Kim Jong-Un described the August test as the “greatest success” and said it put the United States mainland within striking range.
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The latest missile launch from the North comes just 12 days after it fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that flew an estimated 500 kilometers eastward on July 24 and landed in waters in Japan’s territory. There was no prior warning issued by Pyongyang.
