Japan’s Lower House and Upper House of the National Diet have passed resolutions earlier to condemn North Korea, following its previous four nuclear tests.
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The test was the reclusive state’s most powerful to date.
China, the North’s chief ally, backed the March resolution but is more resistant to harsh new sanctions this time after the United States and South Korea chose to deploy a sophisticated anti-missile system in the South, which China adamantly opposes.
A US B-1B Lancer, center, is escorted by US F-16 fighter jets as it flies over the Osan Air Base, aiming at reinforcing the USA commitment to its key ally in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on Tuesday.
“These flights demonstrate the solidarity between South Korea, the United States, and Japan to defend against North Korea’s provocative and destabilizing actions”, US Pacific Commander Adm. Harry Harris said in a statement.
(Anchor lead-out) Foreign ministers of South Korea, the USA and Japan are also set to hold talks on North Korea’s nuclear issue, when they meet for the 71st UN General Assembly in NY this Sunday.
US a target?: North Korea’s nuclear program is directed at the United States, a close adviser to Kim Jong Un said after last week’s atomic test, according to a Japanese lawmaker who just returned from Pyongyang.
South Korea believes it is the North’s biggest-ever test, raising fears it has made significant nuclear advances.
A statement published by the official Korean Central News Agency the accused the USA of citing “provocations” by North Korea as a “pretext” for seeking the “opportunity of mounting a pre-emptive nuclear attack”.
The flight of two USA bombers capable of carrying an entire nuclear arsenal over South Korean Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, was intended as a show of force for Pyongyang, which conducted its fifth nuclear test on Friday, prompting a harsh response from South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who accused the North of “maniacal recklessness”.
Washington’s special representative for North Korea policy, Sung Kim, said in Seoul on Tuesday that China must help the worldwide community close loopholes in sanctions against Pyongyang.
North Korea frequently responds to U.S.
The United States and South Korea vowed on Tuesday to push for the “strongest possible” resolution at the U.N. Security Council, including new sanctions and the removal of existing loopholes, to punish North Korea for its latest nuclear test. The talks, which also involve Japan, South Korea and the United States, have been on hold since 2008.
The two Koreas are locked in a military stalemate since the end of their 1950-1953 war.
Pyongyang’s activities are “a effect of the administrations’ failed policy of strategic patience and its hollow pivot to Asia”, said U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan.
For that, the two envoys emphasized the need for close cooperation from Russian Federation, and most importantly, North Korea’s closest ally China. They focused mainly on USA involvement this time.
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The agency said the death toll and the number of missing people were based on North Korean government data.
