Outsiders view North Korea’s space launches as a cover for banned ballistic missile tests as the country openly pursues long-range nuclear weapons. Commercial satellite imagery confirmed activity consistent with preparations for such an engine test.
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A spokesman for South Korea’s military, Jeon Ha-gyu, said it was likely to have been a test for a new engine that can be used for a long-range missile.
All the tests alarmed the Western governments, as well as North Korea’s southern neighbors.
China, which has objected to a planned USA deployment of a THAAD missile defence system in the South to counter the North’s missile threat, called on “all parties to exercise restraint and to avoid any actions that could further escalate tensions”.
An American strategic bomber landed in South Korea on Wednesday in a show of force the USA said was aimed at reminding Pyongyang of its powerful military assets in the region.
Most recently, tensions were running high over a U.S. bomber’s flight over South Korea, when the North warned that “reckless provocations” like this should stop, while the USA said that any provocations from Pyongyang would lead to “serious consequences”. About 28,500 USA troops are stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
North Korea stated that it has successfully completed a test of a new satellite rocket engine.
North Korea has successfully tested a new, high-powered rocket engine, state media said Tuesday, a move Seoul said was created to showcase its progress towards being able to target the U.S. east coast.
As experts around the world typically tell it, China protects its despotic and often uncooperative neighbor for two main reasons: It doesn’t want instability in North Korea to send refugees and other chaos across its border, and it doesn’t want US or USA -allied South Korean troops deploying along that frontier.
“Six-nation diplomatic talks aimed at ridding the North of its bombs have been stalled since the last round of meetings in late 2008”. Yun said the North uses its argument over military exercises as an excuse as it pursues weapons development.
US President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping of China both condemned the latest nuclear tests. Strengthened sanctions on Pyongyang haven’t discouraged Kim Jong Un from building up a nuclear program.
The description of the new engine matched that of a rocket booster the USA has alleged Pyongyang was collaborating on with Iran, experts said, indicating the North Korean technology might be shared with Tehran.
Tehran has continued to test ballistic missiles, despite U.N. Security Council resolutions, even after the deal with world powers to cap Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of global sanctions took effect in January.
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Chang Yong-seok, senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies, Seoul National University, said this case was symbolic and could have real practical impact.
