The North Korea test prompted South Korea and the United States to state that they would explore whether to deploy an advanced missile defence system in South Korea “at the earliest possible date”.
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The THAAD system is capable of destroying enemy missiles either before they leave earth’s atmosphere or shortly after the missiles re-enter the atmosphere.
Now Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook has said the U.S. officials are convinced sending a missile defence system to South Korea is the right move.
However, North Korea’s only ally in the Security Council – China – fears that too severe a sanctions regimen will destabilize North Korea and the region.
But the Security Council provided no details on the nature of any new sanctions it may pursue against the country, which has ignored an array of existing punitive measures with a series of long-range rocket launches and nuclear weapons tests in recent years.
China was among the countries that condemned the launch, although it has also been vocally opposed to the deployment of the THAAD system so close to its border. The liftoff was tracked individually by the US Strategic Command and by their counterparts in Japan and South Korea.
In a series of telephone conversations on Tuesday, the leaders of the US, South Korea and Japan agreed to work together to ensure that the UN Security Council adopts a resolution that includes sanctions that will have an impact on North Korea.
“We have made clear that China can do more and needs to do more”.
The rocked launch has renewed worldwide condemnation just a month after it carried out a nuclear bomb test.
North Korea, however, has not yet mastered key technology needed to turn the rocket into an inter-continental ballistic missile – a re-entry vehicle to protect the warhead from heat, the official said.
Park received a phone call from the USA president at about 11:20 a.m. local time, making an in-depth discussions about the DPRK’s nuclear test and ballistic missile launch, Park’s office said.
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Still, South Korea, the United States and other regional powers view the North’s satellite launch as a cover for testing its ballistic missile technology, which is banned under U.N. resolutions.
