VIENTIANE, Laos-President Barack Obama said the USA would work to intensify United Nations sanctions on North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s firing of three ballistic missiles on Monday.
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During their summit meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Laos on Tuesday, President Park Geun-hye and her US counterpart Barack Obama reaffirmed that the two allies would mobilize all possible means to counter Pyongyang’s continued provocations.
North Korea test-fired three ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday as world powers gathered for a G20 meeting in China, with leader Kim Jong-Un hailing the tests as “perfect”.
“The United States will support its allies without any hesitation and North Korea’s action will only lead to its profound isolation”, said the American state leader.
The president’s comments came one day after North Korea fired three mid-range ballistic missiles near the Sea of Japan, prompting renewed concern among US allies in the region.
Yonhap News Agency reported that during the ASEAN summit in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, Park emphasized that North Korea’s developing missile and nuclear programs present a “great threat to the peace of not only the Korean Peninsula but also the worldwide community as a whole”.
North Korea on Wednesday rejected a UN Security Council statement condemning the reclusive state for its latest missile tests and threatening to take “further significant measures”.
Obama also held talks with his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye about Pyongyang’s firing of three mid-range missiles on Monday.
Hahn Choong-hee, ambassador and deputy permanent representative of South Korea to the United Nations, said the missile launches were posing a serious threat to the region.
Envoys from France and Japan both called for sending a strong message to Pyongyang as they entered the meeting of the 15-member Security Council.
The council expressed serious concern that North Korea carried out the latest launches “in flagrant disregard” of its demands.
This undated picture, released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 6, 2016, shows the fire drill of ballistic rockets by Hwasong artillery units at an undisclosed location in North Korea.
The White House noted the US remains committed to moving ahead with the planned deployment of a major anti-missile system in South Korea. They flew about 1,000 km and landed in water some 400 km inside Japan’s air defence identification zone in the East Sea. Washington and Seoul denounced it as a cover for an intercontinental ballistic missile test.
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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
