North Korea conducted its fifth and most powerful nuclear test to date on September 9, claiming it as a successful nuclear warhead detonation that proved its ability to mass produce “standardized” nuclear weapons that could be used on missiles.
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“Do they think they can confront our republic, a nuclear power of the East, with the scrap weapons that the United States tossed them?”
South Korea’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se on Thursday told the U.N. General Assembly that North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs presented “a direct existential threat” and said his country had no choice but to take “necessary defensive measures”.
On Friday it wrapped up the week-long extravaganza, awarding the the Torch Prize, North Korea’s slightly-less coveted version of an Oscar, to Story About My House, a state-sponsored drama about a young woman who devotes her life to raising orphans and is honored by the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un.
In Beijing, South Korea’s top nuclear envoy Kim Hong-kyun met with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei and said China has agreed on the need for a stronger U.N. Security Council resolution than existing ones in response to North Korea’s fifth nuclear test.
The U.N. and worldwide community are searching for new ways to pressure North Korea to change its behavior and end its nuclear weapons programs.
“Going nuclear armed is the policy of our state”, Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on Wednesday appealed for US$15.5 million in emergency funding to help North Koreans.
The back-and-forth this week coincides with the United Nations General Assembly taking place in NY.
The foreign minister’s comments follow South Korean calls for the U.N.to reconsider North Korea’s United Nations membership.
North Korea’s recent nuclear test, along with recent ballistic missile launches, have deepened concerns that it is moving closer toward obtaining the ability to put nuclear warheads on a variety of its ballistic missiles.
A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. The U.S. military has said at least one of two supersonic bombers that it flew over South Korea approached the border with the North Korea, an unusual occurrence in the world’s most heavily fortified border.
The Russian foreign minister also touched upon the issue of nuclear disarmament, saying the majority of nuclear-armed countries refrain from joining disarmament agreements, with some of them even torpedoing efforts to start negotiations on creating a world free of weapons of mass destruction.
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This weekend North Korea is hosting its first-ever air show, which would involve both civilian and military aircraft.
