Earlier, on the sidelines of the ASEAN ministerial in Laos, North Korea’s foreign minister said that another nuclear test is entirely dependent on the USA attitude. The leaflets contained threats to launch missile attacks and longstanding propaganda that the North won the Korean War.
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Speaking on the sidelines of an Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Laos, Ri said North Korea was a responsible nuclear state and would not use its atomic arms unless threatened.
He said North Korea should learn from Iran, also a bitter enemy but with whom the United States and other countries made a deal to end its nuclear program.
An announcement by South Korea and the United States this month that they would deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) unit has drawn protests from China, which warned that the system would destabilize regional security.
Choi said he sees the missile system deployment as an unfortunate outcome of failed US-South Korean policy.
“Mr. Ri on Tuesday said the USA had made a declaration of war by criticizing North Korea’s human-rights record”.
North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January, then launched a long-range rocket the following month.
The forum attracts special attention as it was held amid heightened tensions over the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in favor of the Philippines in the territorial disputes in South China Sea and over Seoul’s decision to allow the deployment of the USA -led Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) antimissile system to South Korea.
“As a result of China’s decision not to put pressure with North Korea, South Korea has no choice but to change its approach”, he says.
The decision is the latest move to squeeze increasingly isolated North Korea, but China worries the system’s radar will be able to track its military capabilities.
South Korean officials have been trying to counter claims that THAAD is part of a broader USA missile defense system that includes Japan. Attention is on a joint statement to be issued by the host country Laos, but it won’t be all smooth sailing, as member nations have conflicting views on different matters, especially the South China Sea dispute, and the deployment of the USA missile defense system THAAD.
In March, South Korea’s parliament passed an anti-terrorism bill, backed by President Park Geun-hye, which was first proposed some 15 years ago. “Most ministers have actively shown cooperation on that request”.
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“The government has stepped up monitoring over the possibility of unsafe acts by the North against our citizens and has strengthened security measures for the safety of our citizens”, Sun said.
