Park told Xi that China’s close ties to North Korea could disrupt its relationship with South Korea.
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A proven submarine-launched ballistic missile system would allow deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a “second-strike” capability in the event of an attack on the North’s military bases.
The U.S. and South Korea were still investigating, but the launches were clearly a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the North’s use of ballistic missile technology, the statement said.
While any missile that passes Seoul’s defenses would be potentially devastating for those in its path, the true threat posed by North Korea to its neighbors comes from its purported ability to equip such weapons with nuclear warheads.
South Korean President Park Geun-Hye was seen meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G-20 summit meeting and spokespeople afterwards commented that the Pyongyang’s actions were discussed.
The Defense Ministry here, having confirmed the launches, said the missiles flew for around 1,000 km before all three of them fell into the Sea of Japan, within what Japan believes to be its exclusive economic zone.
China says the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system is meant to spy on China, while Seoul and Washington say the system is intended exclusively to defend against North Korea’s missile threat.
The United States “strongly” condemned the latest missile launches and called on North Korea to refrain from actions and rhetoric that raise tensions in the region, US State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
It said they were a threat to civil aviation and maritime commerce, adding that it planned to raise concerns about North Korea’s nuclear programme at the G20 summit.
After the submarine-based launch, the Security Council called on United Nations member states to “redouble their efforts” to implement all United Nations sanctions imposed on the North.
That missile flew 500 kilometres wards Japan, far exceeding the range of the North’s previous sub-launched missiles. China has insisted that the THAAD is a problem that will have a very negative impact on the Korean Peninsula, in Northeast Asia and for world peace, and for South Korea itself. But more recent tests suggest North Korea is steadily learning from what appears to be a test-and-improve approach, Ms. Tomomi said.
“Mishandling the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region and could intensify disputes”, Xi explained to Park.
Her remarks follow the August 24 launch by the DPRK of a submarine-launched ballistic missile.
Lockheed’s Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) is a mobile defense system comprising a powerful radar to detect incoming threats along with fire control and communications systems and a truck-mounted missile launcher. But they point to a mid-range ballistic missile test in June as evidence of a steadily advancing ability to reach USA forces stationed in the region.
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Park said that a THAAD deployment would not threaten any other country’s security interests and would not be needed if the North’s nuclear issue was resolved, Yonhap news agency said.
