A South Korean agreement with the United States to deploy an antimissile system against its neighbor to the north has upset not just Pyongyang, North Korea.
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China has strongly opposed THAAD’s deployment in South Korea, saying the system, especially the powerful “X-band” radar, could be used against it, despite repeated assurances from the US and the South that the battery is purely defensive and would be used only to cope with North Korean threats.
The ministry says it’s the first time for Pyongyang to use a river to send leaflets. “We will take various measures until North Korea abandons nuclear weapons and follows the road to peace on its own”.
Yun arrived in Laos on Sunday to attend a series of Asean-related meetings, including the East Asia Summit, a meeting of foreign ministers of Asean plus three countries – South Korea, China and Japan – and the ARF, along with bilateral meetings with his counterparts from countries including Japan, China, the United States and Myanmar. When asked by reporters about another nuclear test, he said that depends on the U.S.’s attitude.
“North Korea in January did another nuclear test. In February, March, April, May, continually they have done missile tests”. However, the 45,000 residents of Seongju, about 184 miles southeast of Seoul – the county where the US missile defense system is scheduled to be installed – rejected the test results, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
Mr. Kerry said it was “critical for the world and for all countries to fully enforce the sanctions that have been imposed”, calling North Korea “the only country in the world defying the global movement towards responsibility” by continuing to develop its missiles. “Together we are determined… that there are real consequences for these actions”, he said. The North was seen to be in a state of readiness to conduct an additional nuclear test, according to South Korean officials and experts. It also called on members to create an environment in which the long-stalled six-party denuclearization talks can be resumed.
Some analysts say North Korea has developed a handful of crude nuclear devices and is working toward building a warhead small enough to mount on a long-range missile capable of reaching the continental U.S. However, South Korean defense officials say the North has neither such a miniaturized warhead nor a functioning intercontinental ballistic missile.
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The issue has also raised concern that China might be refusing to render full-scale cooperation for global efforts to increase pressure on Pyongyang, including implementing the latest U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution, in protest of the THAAD deployment decision.
