Pyongyang has conducted a fourth nuclear test and a series of missile tests this year in defiance of United Nations sanctions, prompting South Korea to announce plans to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system to counter such threats.
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The agency’s report cited an unidentified government official.
Park told reporters Tuesday that North Korea missile program is “fundamentally threatening the security” of the Korean Peninsula and both leaders defended its position as defensive.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that “artificial seismic waves” from a quake measuring 5.0 were detected near the Punggye-ri test site, and officials were analyzing whether it was a nuclear test.
What action the council takes remains to be seen and a lot depends on China, North Korea’s neighbor and only major ally, though ties have frayed over the nuclear and missile tests and what many outsiders see as other provocations in recent years.
Power said North Korea has carried out 22 missile launches so far this year and the latest hit “within 300 kilometers of Japan’s coast”.
According to the agency, Abe’s message came after an explanation of Japan’s response, including the completed payment of a contribution of 1 billion yen (US$9.8 million) to a foundation created by South Korea to support comfort women survivors.
Despite the heavy sanctions, North Korea says the programs are justified because of the threat posed by the USA and South Korea.
Following the enactment of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 in February, Washington has been stepping up pressure on Pyongyang, which included imposing in July new human rights violation sanctions including the regime’s young leader Kim Jong-un for the first time.
North Korea has been hit by five sets of United Nations sanctions since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006.
North Korea has a negative opinion about South Korea anti-missile system and has threatened to attack its neighbor country and the US base in Guam.
Park described the launches as a “reckless provocation (that) will lead North Korea down the path of self-destruction”. And last month, a missile from a North Korean submarine flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles), the longest distance achieved by the North for such a weapon. The country has previously conducted tests every three to four years.
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Among Pyongyang’s regular demands are for Washington to withdraw its troops from the region and to sign a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War.
