The 15-member Security Council on Wednesday met at the request of Japan and the United States after North Korea launched two missiles earlier that day that landed in or very near Japanese-controlled waters.
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North Korea has test fired another ballistic missile, this time landing in Japan’s Exclusive Economic zone, the first to reach the area since 1998.
The ballistic missile launch drew immediate condemnation from the governments of China, Japan, South Korea and the United States.
“It imposes a serious threat to Japan’s security and it is unforgivable act of violence toward Japan’s security”, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
Powers said North Korea alone was responsible for the repeated ballistic missile launches that violate United Nations resolutions.
“Initial indications reveal one of the missiles exploded immediately after launch, while the second was tracked over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan”, a statement emailed to NK News by STRATCOM said. South Korea referred to the launch as North Korea’s way of showing its ambition to broadly and directly attack neighboring countries and target South Korean airfields and seaports.
In June, North Korea sent a mid-range missile more than 1,400km into the atmosphere and the next month fired three ballistic missiles into the sea, saying it was a simulated strike on the South.
Experts differ over whether North Korea has developed a “miniaturised” nuclear warhead capable of being loaded on a missile.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) aims to combat the North’s growing missile capacity and its threats.
The North Korean test program has two obvious technical goals: improving missile reliability (recall my comment about the manufacturing base) and increasing missile range. The UN Security Council has already passed resolutions imposing harsh economic and political sanctions on North Korea and prohibited North Korea from conducting further ballistic missile launches.
The U.S. missile defense system also breaks strategic balance in the region and severely damages security interests of China and Russia as the X-band radar can peer into Chinese and Russian territories. A nuclear missile threat from North Korea was named as the reason for stationing a THAAD unit on the permanent basis.
At this meeting, South Korean Brig.
Those tensions seem likely to remain high for the time being, as the USA prepares for a large-scale series of annual joint exercises with South Korea in August – drills that North Korea regards as a simulation of an invasion. Additionally, Pyongyang reacted sharply to the United States’ decision to list Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, under new sanctions.
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Dealing with North Korea requires a “vigorous carrot and stick strategy”, but, so far, the US and South Korea have meted out only punishment and offered no rewards, he added.
