The issue has helped close the gap between China and its erstwhile client state, North Korea, after the provocations of a nuclear test and long-range missile launch earlier this year.
Advertisement
The meeting, originally scheduled for today, took place Tuesday after the American leader canceled a meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who had publicly called Obama a “son of a bitch”.
The UN Security Council was due to meet on Tuesday to discuss the latest missile test, which attracted condemnation from Japan and the United States.
The leader also “stressed the need to continue making miraculous achievements in bolstering up the nuclear force one after another”, KCNA said.
All three missiles Monday fell in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the 200-nautical mile offshore area where a nation has sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting resources, according to Tokyo’s Defense Ministry.
“All three were launched nearly simultaneously and fell around the same spot, which shows North Korea’s missile capability has been steadily improving”, Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said.
Pyongyang appears to have successfully tested such a missile last month, much to the jubilation of Kim, as seen in photos released by North Korean state media.
Park also condemned the launches calling them “fundamentally threatening” and said the two had agreed to “respond resolutely” to any provocation. The allied countries insist the THAAD is only part of a layered defense system that includes lower-altitude Patriots that together would protect the entire country.
North Korea fired three medium-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast Monday, landing close to Japan, in a show of force that coincided with the meeting of leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies in neighbouring China.
That flew 500km towards Japan, far exceeding the range of the country’s previous sub-launched missiles.
Firing a missile almost straight up, whether from submarine or land, would also increase its effectiveness against THAAD. U.S. officials said it was “prudent” to take North Korea’s word regarding this development.
“They’re saying that ‘OK we’ve got nukes and we’ve got missiles”. In addition to the summit being held nearby in China, the launches occurred three days after the USA and South Korea concluded annual war games and ahead of the 68th anniversary of its own founding.
North Korea has staged a series of recent missile tests with increasing range, part of a program that aims to eventually build long-range nuclear missiles capable of striking the USA mainland.
North Korea has also ramped up missile tests as negotiations between South Korea and the U.S. to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) have progressed.
Advertisement
His string of purges, including executions, have continued, and a top-level diplomat recently defected from the country’s embassy in London.
