While the USA and its allies have cast doubt on the testing allegation, they have pledged to launch a “united and strong” response and the UN Security Council has threatened North Korea with new sanctions.
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South Korea resumed loudspeaker broadcasts as of Friday noon, protesting the North’s fourth nuclear test on Wednesday.
North Korea considers the broadcasts an act of war, and the fresh propaganda against Kim could further inflame the country since Friday was believed to be the leader’s 33rd birthday.
“We urge South Korea to exercise restraint”, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said during a visit in Japan, according to Reuters.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has called on China to end its ties with its ally North Korea.
Cho Tae-yong, a senior presidential national security official, told reporters that Pyongyang’s nuclear test was a violation of the August 25 agreement, a reference to an inter-Korean deal that calls for easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and promoting dialogue and exchanges between the Koreas.
It may take weeks or longer to confirm or refute the North’s claim that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, which would mark a major and unanticipated advance for its still-limited nuclear arsenal.
The move has led North Korea to begin similar broadcasts of its own. South Korea’s Defence Ministry couldn’t confirm the reports.
Donald Trump, the front-runner for the GOP nomination, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday that “China should solve that problem, and we should put pressure on China to solve the problem”.
US Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives could join forces in a rare display of unity to tighten sanctions on North Korea.
South Korean and us military leaders also have discussed the deployment of USA “strategic assets”, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said.
South Korea said on Friday it was not yet considering shutting down the Kaesong industrial complex, run jointly with North Korea, located north of the rivals’ border.
While Aucoin said some of the North’s hardware is “not very high tech” – specifically mentioning submarines – its nuclear weapons and missiles are a threat.
The source, who has contacts in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang and correctly predicted the North’s first nuclear test in 2006, said the tests would go on until the North’s demand for a treaty was met. B-2 and B-52 bombers are capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
Kerry also said he and Wang agreed to work closely together to determine the steps that we can take to address increasing concerns about the nuclear test.
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The South raised its military alert to the highest level in areas along the border near its propaganda loudspeakers, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported late on Thursday.
