China has agreed to allow sanctions at the UN Security Council after previous tests by Pyongyang, and says it has restricted shipments of jet fuel and imports of certain minerals from North Korea, which otherwise remains in nearly total isolation from the world.
Advertisement
He said, “North Korea claims are meant to serve as delivery vehicles for nuclear weapons targeting the United States and our allies, the Republic of Korea and Japan”.
Under the KMPR, the military would divide Pyongyang into several districts and completely destroy a certain section in which Kim and other military leadership are suspected to be hiding, before they use a nuclear weapon, the source noted. The toughest United Nations sanctions in two decades were imposed on the North for its fourth nuclear test in January, but the new test raised a question over whether sanctions can force a change in North Korea. Those measures target trade, shipping and finance. The United States and China have also been at odds over disputed territory in the South China Sea, the report added. A state run news channel in North Korea quoted a high-ranking official. However, China’s reaction has been limited.
North Korea usually projects itself to the world as a fully functioning worker’s paradise.
The North Korean government was working to reopen the roads as soon as possible. It also said unilateral action will not be productive. In addition to its nuclear tests, the country has launched more than 20 medium- or long-range missiles.
North Korea is keenly aware of the US presence on the peninsula and of what it considers the USA nuclear threat.
Yet, North Korea faces problems feeding its population.
Flooding caused by Typhoon Lionrock has so far killed 133 people and at least 395 more are missing, according to numbers published by the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which cited information provided by the North Korean government. But with CNN reporting that more than 50,000 homes have been damaged by flooding in the city of Musan alone and things only getting worse since the typhoon struck on August 30, not even the state-run media could mask the DPRK’s crisis. The North Korean authorities initially estimated that 44,000 people had been displaced between Onsong in the north and Musan, a major mining centre 160km down river.
Advertisement
“We should discuss every plan including an independent nuclear armament program at the level of self-defense to safeguard peace”, Won Yoo-chul, a senior lawmaker for the ruling Saenuri Party, said in a statement. Additional material came from VOA’s Chris Hannas and Victor Beattie.
