During an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the Munich meeting, Wang revealed that China is indeed apprehensive about the deployment of THAAD in South Korea.
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A formation of four U.S. F-22 stealth fighters swept through the skies of South Korea on Wednesday as the militaries of South Korea and the US flexed their muscles against North Korea following its nuclear and missile tests. Security experts have warned that the satellite launch may have been a cover for Pyongyang to test its long rang missile technology.
Elite units of the South Korean and USA air forces will also conduct exercises that will have them parachute from airplanes four-thousand meters above ground and direct troop-carrying planes after landing.
Seoul officials said North Korea was able to divert the Kaesong payments because the workers there were not paid directly.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye pledged on Tuesday further “strong” measures against North Korea, after suspending operations at a jointly run industrial park as punishment for the North’s recent long-range rocket launch and nuclear test.
“Extraordinary threat requires an extraordinary response”, he said.
Fitch in a report said recent developments do not affect its fundamental analysis on South Korea’s AA minus sovereign rating, predicting a very low possibility for armed conflicts occurring between the two sides. And with almost half of South Korea’s 50 million people living in or around Seoul – just 50 kilometres (35 miles) from the border and within range of the North’s artillery batteries _ Pyongyang could inflict huge damage on its rival in just minutes.
While negotiations for a new resolution continue at the Security Council, every effort should be made to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
“There will be no ground for its introduction should the parties agree to a sanctions package that is sufficient for Pyongyang to re-evaluate its nuclear program”, the editorial says.
In Washington, the House and Senate have passed a bill enacting new sanctions against North Korea, and it is now awaiting President Obama’s signature.
The editorial echoes comments by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who told Reuters on Friday that the United Nations should adopt a resolution to ensure “North Korea will pay the necessary price and to show there is a outcome for its behavior”.
“Now is the time to find an answer to bring a fundamental change in North Korea – and it is time to find courage to implement it”, she said calmly and firmly.
This in turn led to a shift in favor of actions that “make Pyongyang feel pain for its obduracy”, it said.
China is now North Korea’s only supporter on the U.N.’s Security Council and can veto action against it.
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On Monday, the Chinese government-run English-language China Daily called THAAD a serious regional security threat, and said that “a sanctions package that is sufficient for Pyongyang to reevaluate its nuclear program”, would stop its deployment.
