US President Barack Obama has called for the full implementation of sanctions against North Korea after it fired three ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan.
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“President Park and I agreed that the entire global community needs to implement these sanctions fully and hold North Korea accountable”, Obama said of the meeting with his South Korean counterpart.
“With each test, each violation of UNSC resolutions, and there have been 22 of them so far this year, the DPRK demonstrates further advancement of its ballistic missile program”, she said, flanked by the Japanese and South Korean ambassadors, Koro Bessho and Hahn Choong-hee, respectively, outside the Security Council chamber.
In June, after a string of failures, North Korea sent an intermediate Musudan missile more than 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) high in a test launch that outside analysts said showed progress in efforts to acquire the ability to strike US forces in the region.
Obama added that the US had not closed off the possibility for dialogue with North Korea, if it were to change course.
North Korea has been hit by five sets of United Nations sanctions since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006.
Late last month, the UN Security Council condemned four missile launches carried out by North Korea in July and August.
South Korea’s defense ministry said the latest tests were of Rodong missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometers.
North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday, the South Korean and US militaries said, as the leaders of the Group of 20 major economies held a summit in China, the North’s main diplomatic ally. Thousands of United States soldiers are stationed in South Korea and Japan.
He directly supervised the launch of the three ballistic missiles, conducted as part of a military drill to test the capability of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) to fight a real battle.
South Korea’s Park said that her neighbor’s “continued missile launches are fundamentally threatening the security of both the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia”.
The tests not only threaten Japan’s national security but the region and beyond, he said, stressing that the missiles were launched without any prior notification and could have hit planes or ships.
Members of the Security Council including China were quick to denounce the missile tests that took place while Beijing was hosting the G20 meeting in Hangzhou, Yonhap reported.
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Extended deterrence refers to America’s stated commitment to defend its ally by mobilizing all military capabilities, nuclear and conventional, to cope with North Korea’s aggression and provocations.
