North Korea is rapidly becoming a nuclear power that could mount a miniaturized nuclear bomb atop an intercontinental ballistic missile within the next four years, the private intelligence firm Soufan Group said in a report on Tuesday.
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“This is the fifth time they have carried out a nuclear test and all that successive South Korean governments have done is to show that they are unable to prevent the North developing nuclear weapons”, said Kim Bum-soo, executive director of the conservative NGO Save North & Next Korea.
He said the United States would work with China, North Korea’s major diplomatic ally, to close loopholes in existing resolutions, which were tightened with Beijing’s backing in March.
Yonhap said the U.S. military will try again Tuesday to fly two B-1 bombers, capable of carrying 24 atomic weapons, over its main air base near Seoul.
For years, his administration pursued a policy of “strategic patience”, which mostly consisted of ignoring North Korea while mildly cajoling China to put more pressure on the regime.
The growing threat from Pyongyang raises the stakes for the USA and its allies, who have seen little effect from tough economic sanctions that were imposed in an effort to rein in the communist nation. The red lights may be flashing in Washington, Tokyo and Seoul, but there’s no sign yet that North Korea’s impulsive leader is getting the message.
In yet another tough statement against North Korea, South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday ordered her military to be ready to “finish off” North Korea if it fires a nuclear missile toward South Korea.
While China has expressed doubts on whether sanctions would ultimately resolve the nuclear issue in the peninsula, Kim emphasized that China has clearly opposed North Korea’s nuclear activities and that they understand the need for a new UNSC resolution.
Such flyovers are common during higher-than-normal animosity on the Korean Peninsula, which is technically in a state of war because there has never been a peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean War.
The flooding comes as North Korea faces global anger for conducting its fifth nuclear test.
The UN Security council is scrambling to come up with new penalties, but five sets of UN sanctions since North Korea first tested a nuclear device in 2006 have failed to deter it.
North Korea’s current and ongoing missile launches and nuclear tests serve other purposes as well, of course-international military extortion, domestic legitimacy messaging and all the rest.
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Speaking in Seoul on Tuesday, Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative on North Korea, said the USA remained open to authentic, meaningful dialogue with Pyongyang on ending its pursuit of nuclear weapons. South Korea is already under the shield of USA extended deterrence, but having some of them on stand-by on or near the peninsula – instead of places like Guam – would send an utterly different message to the North. Ministry officials refused to say what specific evidence pointed to another possible nuclear test. Six-nation negotiations on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program in exchange for aid were last held in late 2008 and fell apart in early 2009.
