Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida made the announcement after a meeting with his South Korean and Chinese counterparts in Tokyo on Wednesday. The foreign ministers from China, Japan, and South Korea are convening for a trilateral discussion for the first time in almost a year and a half. With Japan, South Korea will also discuss plans for the Olympics as well as expanding cooperation in such areas as cultural assets in museums.
Advertisement
North Korea already has a variety of land-based missiles that can hit South Korea and Japan, including USA military bases in those countries. “Those threats are coming closer each moment”.
Thursday marks the anniversary of the “Military First” policy initiated by Kim Jong Un’s father, the late Kim Jong Il, and the priority position the military continues to enjoy in North Korea was on full display.
The UN met last night but is yet to publicly condemned the launch, which is effectively a test of Pyongyang’s nuclear strike capability.
The United Nations Security Council was holding emergency closed consultations on the launch late Wednesday afternoon at the request of the United States and Japan.
After the closed-door meeting concluded, Japanese Deputy Ambassador Yoshifumi Okamura and Deputy U.S. Ambassador Michele Sison did not field questions nor did the American or Japanese representatives issue a joint statement.
North Korea is barred under United Nations resolutions from any use of ballistic-missile technology, but Pyongyang has carried out several launches following its fourth nuclear test in January.
Two submarine-launched ballistic missiles have exploded in midair this year after flying fewer than 18 miles.
This is an impermissible and outrageous act that represents a grave threat to the security of Japan and seriously undermines the peace and stability of the region.
The South Korean military said earlier that North Korea fired a missile that flew 500 kilometers before falling into the waters of Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.
North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs are a source of regional security concerns.
The agency previously quoted a military source saying if fired atthe optimum angle it could cover more than 1,000km – without mentioning if it was fully fuelled.
“This system is still in development, but North Korea is clearly making progress”, Lewis told AFP.
A proven SLBM system would take North Korea’s nuclear strike threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a “second-strike” capability in the event of an attack on its military bases.
“A test-fire of strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile was successfully conducted under the guidance of supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) Kim Jong Un”, the North’s official KCNA news agency said.
North Korea usually responds to regular South Korea-U.S. military drills with weapons tests and fiery warlike rhetoric.
Mr. Earnest said the administration, over the past year, has been able “to work more effectively with the Chinese government to apply additional pressure to the North Korean regime”.
Advertisement
About 28,500 US troops are based in South Korea and tens of thousands of more in Japan.
