North Korea’s nuclear and missiles tests have been condemned worldwide and have resulted in several rounds of United Nations sanctions, the most recent of which were adopted in March.
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Northern officials believe that the supersonic bomber crossed the line of demarcation designed to create distance between the warring north and south.
Daniel Russel, the USA assistant secretary of state for East Asia told Reuters on Friday (23 September) that Thaad missile programme was “not negotiable”. On this issue, the high-ranking government official said United Nations sanctions “could materialize in the area of human rights in addition to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs”.
North Korea has come under heavy global condemnation, including China, for its fifth and what it claims as the “largest” nuclear test on 9 September. His comments quash speculation that Seoul and Washington could modify their plans to induce cooperation from China to enforce tougher sanctions on its long-time ally, North Korea. The same official avoided an immediate response when asked if North Korea’s nuclear development program means Seoul does not intend to provide humanitarian assistance in response to the flooding. Two experts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for International Studies last week argued that if China were to agree to serious graduated sanctions on North Korea, the United States could agree to freeze the number of ground-based missile interceptors on the Korean Peninsula.
U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration says it supports ratifying the treaty.
Meantime, North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Yong Ho railed against the United States in his United Nations General Assembly address, warning the USA of “tremendous consequences” for its aggression and justifying Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and nuclear tests to defend North Korea from American hostility.
Russel said it was “not unnatural” that such questions should be raised.
The plan is called Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation, or KMPR.
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North Korean Foreign minister Ri Yong Ho was defiant in his speech to the UN General Assembly on Friday, vowing that the communist state would strengthen its nuclear weapons capability and never give it up while it was threatened by nuclear-armed states.
