North Korean state media claims the nation now has the ability to mount nuclear warheads on rockets after the country conducted its fifth and biggest atomic test on Friday.
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Earlier, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported South Korea’s military had a plan to use its missiles to “decimate” areas of Pyongyang if there were signs the North was about to launch a nuclear attack, quoting a source in the military.
On Monday, Yonhap cited an unnamed government source as saying reports indicated the North had finished preparations for a further test, in previously unused tunnel at the Punggye-ri site deep underneath mountains in the north-east.
After the test, the North’s nuclear weapons institute said it will take unspecified measures to further boost its nuclear capability, which analysts said hinted at a possible sixth nuclear test.
“The mission is aimed at reinforcing the United States commitment to its key ally following North Korea’s nuclear test”, a USFK spokesman told AFP.
“In other words, the North’s capital city will be reduced to ashes and removed from the map”, the source told the news agency.
According to the BBC, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on the members to remain united in thwarting North Korea’s nuclear expansion. The United States, the United Kingdom and France are reportedly leading the push for new sanctions.
However, the speed with which North Korea is modernizing its nuclear and missile programme through indigenous research and development could one day present formidable threat.
“We continue to work together to urge China to implement existing Security Council resolutions. and to work with us to make sure North Korea’s behavior and their deliberation change in a more productive and positive direction”, Kim said.
South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye said Kim was “mentally out of control”, blind to all the warnings of foreign powers and “the patience of the worldwide community has come to the limit”.
The South has no atomic weapons of its own and shelters under the nuclear “umbrella” of its U.S. ally, which stations 28,500 troops in South Korea.
The statement said China’s stance has always been to achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, prevent nuclear proliferation, and maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
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North Korea says it will not give up on its nuclear “deterrence” unless Washington ends its hostile policy toward Pyongyang and dissolves the US-led command in South Korea.
