“We do not have any interest in an offensive approach to North Korea”.
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The White House noted the United States remains committed to moving ahead with the planned deployment of a major anti-missile system in South Korea. Those sanctions reflected growing anger at Pyongyang’s nuclear test in January and a subsequent rocket launch.
North Korea failed to follow through on the required procedures before its latest launches.
It unanimously said Pyongyang’s launches on Monday of three Rodong missiles that traveled 1,000 kilometers before landing in Japan’s air defense identification zone were “a grave violation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s global obligations” under a series of Security Council resolutions.
The White House noted the US remains committed to moving ahead with the planned deployment of a major anti-missile system in South Korea. Washington and Seoul denounced it as a cover for an intercontinental ballistic missile test.
Obama also held talks with his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye about Pyongyang’s firing of three mid-range missiles on Monday.
“With each test, each violation of UN Security Council resolutions – and there have been 22 of them so far this year – the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) demonstrates further advancement of its ballistic program”, United States envoy Samantha Power said. This week’s launches notably occurred while China was hosting world leaders at the G-20 summit.
“We are going to work diligently together with the most recent United Nations sanctions that are already placing North Korea under the most intense sanctions regime ever”, Obama said.
North Korea continues its threatening and provocative behavior in the Asia-Pacific region through its missile launches, Obama said.
A missile is launched during a drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea.
Meanwhile, leader Kim Jong Un hailed the successful launch as “perfect”.
North Korea has lambasted a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) statement that slammed Pyongyang for its latest missile tests, pledging to bolster its nuclear program in response.
The North Korean missile fired on Monday, in the right photo released by the Rodong Sinmun, has a differently shaped warhead from one launched on July 19. But he didn’t mention any further council action.
“The most obvious difference from the last test is the change in warhead”, she said.
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Kim supervised a drill by artillery units “tasked to strike the bases of the USA imperialist aggressor forces in the Pacific operational theatre in a contingency”, Pyongyang’s KCNA news agency said. Local media outlets report the North’s deputy director for North American Affairs, also a nuclear envoy of the regime, embarked on Wednesday for Beijing.
