South Korea has accused the North’s leader Kim Jong-un of “maniacal recklessness”.
Advertisement
The commentary took issue with her recent condemnation, during talks with US President Barack Obama, of the North’s ballistic missile test-launches.
China has said the THAAD system would destabilize the regional security balance without achieving anything to end North Korea’s nuclear program.
Clinton said the United States would not let North Korea pursue a nuclear weapon and said that as president, she would seek new sanctions in addition to those endorsed by the Obama administration and adopted earlier in the year with the United Nations.
The powerful 15-member council said in a press statement issued after an emergency closed-door meeting that the test poses a clear threat to global peace and security. The measures will be under Article 41 of the U.N. Charter, which specifies non-military actions including sanctions, it said.
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter on Friday called for further pressure on North Korea after the renegade state carried out a new nuclear test, but said China bore “responsibility” for tackling the problem.
“This is more than brazen defiance”, Power told reporters at United Nations headquarters.
Sanctions on North Korea are tight already, but more can be applied – remittances to Pyongyang by North Korean laborers working in other countries could be blocked, and more North Korean officials could be added to travel blacklists.
China’s ambassador Liu Jieyi didn’t confirm whether his country would green-light sanctions.
China said it was resolutely opposed to the test but Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying would not be drawn on whether China would support tougher sanctions against its neighbour. Japan and the US have dispatched jets to test for radiation.
South Korea’s U.N. Ambassador Oh Joon said he hopes agreement on a new resolution will come quickly.
“Today the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, despite universal opposition from the worldwide community, conducted another nuclear test, to which the Chinese government is firmly opposed”, said the statement. “This has definitely put on a higher level (the North’s) technology of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic rockets”. The International Atomic Energy Agency said North Korea had displayed “complete disregard of the repeated demands of the international community”.
The United Nations Security Council has agreed to begin drawing up sanctions after the US, France and Britain called for it.
The South Korean capital stayed calm Saturday, with residents immune to near-daily threats from their neighbour, but newspapers and analysts saw Friday’s test as a game-changer.
But analysts said it may be getting closer and its testing of ballistic missiles, including those created to launch from submarines, accentuates the threat it poses to USA allies South Korea and Japan and ultimately the United States itself.
Council members have frequently warned North Korea that further significant measures would be taken in response to additional nuclear tests.
At an estimated 10 kilotons, it’s thought to be the most powerful explosion yet.
Advertisement
“If there’s evidence that they can do that – or they have done that – then this is a major concern for the region”, Alexander Neill, a North Korea expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia, said. Senior officials from Pyongyang were in both capitals this week.
