Washington will work to intensify United Nations sanctions on North Korea in the wake of Pyongyang’s latest missile tests, US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday.
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North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday, the South Korean and US militaries said, as the leaders of the Group of 20 major economies held a summit in China, the North’s main diplomatic ally.
The envoys from the United States, Japan and South Korea appeared before the press together to slam North Korea’s missile program. KCNA reported that Kim personally oversaw Monday’s missile firing, and vowed that the isolated state would continue to build its nuclear arsenal.
North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un has called for further nuclear advancement as he oversaw a triple ballistic missile launch this week, state-run media stated Tuesday.
“The launch of these missiles is another flagrant violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and a serious setback to the global disarmament and non-proliferation regime”, the Malaysian foreign ministry said.
The single-stage, Rodong-class, mid-range missiles were fired from Hwangju province, North Korea, and flew about 620 miles before falling into waters off the country’s east coast, within Japan’s zone of defense.
North Korea has repeatedly flouted Security Council resolutions demanding an end to its nuclear and ballistic missile activities and has continued to launch missiles, escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.
Seoul has announced plans to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system in the wake of the North’s repeated missile launches.
“North Korea needs to know that provocations will only invite more pressure and further deepen its isolation”, he told reporters after meeting Park in Vientiane.
China opposes the deployment in South Korea of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system.
“They had warheads that looked like cones”, a military source here said.
In return, the South-Korean president stated that Seoul will adopt a “strong” attitude regarding any challenges coming from North Korea. “But if I speak for myself, we think that it is necessary for us to consider what additional actions the council can take in unanimity, in unity, in bringing about the change in North Korean behavior”. “We do not have any interest in an offensive approach to North Korea”.
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But he added that Pyongyang’s current behaviour made that impossible.
