South Korea’s top diplomat in Beijing has clarified Seoul’s stance on the THAAD missile defense system to China’s special representative for the Korean Peninsula.
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The United States had circulated a draft statement that strongly condemned the August 2 launch and expressed particular concern that the ballistic missile landed near Japan.
UN Security Council members must reach agreement on a statement in order for it to be adopted. It is also understood that the decision of Seoul to allow Foreign military bases in the country would spark apprehensions in North Korea, which is being targeted since long by some countries led by the United States.
US Ambassador Samantha Power called for a “strong, swift response from the Security Council” following an emergency meeting last week to discuss the latest missile test.
“At a time when North Korea poses (nuclear and missile) threats, it is nonsense to talk about the reopening of the factory zone”, Jeong Joon-hee, ministry spokesman, told a regular press briefing.
The 15-member council held a closed-door meeting on the same day, but has been unable to agree on a USA -drafted statement to condemn the launch, which was nearly identical to two previous statements issued by the council on North Korea (DPRK).
On 3 August, North Korea fired two ballistic missiles off its east coast, the latest in the country’s continued defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.
One of the missiles fired on August 3 landed in waters near Japan for the first time, causing security jitters in the island nation.
China’s United Nations mission also did not want the statement to express concern that the missile landed near Japan, telling council diplomats in an email, seen by Reuters: “We believe that the response of the council is based on violation of Security Council resolutions, not the place where the missile impacted”.
The UNSC had consistently responded to North Korea’s provocative missile test launches with a statement of condemnation before such a united front showed signs of fractures last month in the face of the growing row over THAAD.
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As a result, the UNSC failed to come up with a joint condemnation both in response to North Korea’s submarine-launched ballistic missile and ballistic ground missile launches in early- and mid-July, respectively.
