North
Korea's missile program is progressing faster than expected, a South Korean
minister said on Tuesday, hours after the UN Security Council demanded the
North
halt all nuclear and ballistic missile tests and condemned Sunday's
test-launch.
The
reclusive North, which has defied all calls to rein in its weapons programs,
even from its lone major ally, China, has been working on a missile, mounted
with a nuclear warhead, capable of striking the U.S. mainland.
U.S.
President Donald Trump's administration has called for an immediate halt to
Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs and has warned that the "era of
strategic patience" with North Korea under previous presidents was at an
end.
South Korean
Defense Minister Han Min-koo told parliament Sunday's test-launch was
"successful in flight".
"It is
considered an IRBM (intermediate range ballistic missile) of enhanced caliber
compared to Musudan missiles that have continually failed," he said,
referring to a class of missile designed to travel up to 3,000 to 4,000 km
(1,860 to 2,485 miles).
Asked if
North Korea's missile program was developing faster than the South had
expected, he said: "Yes."
The North's
KCNA news agency said on Monday the launch tested its capability to carry a
"large-size heavy nuclear warhead". Its ambassador to China said in
Beijing on Monday it would continue such test launches "any time, any
place".
The missile
flew 787 km (489 miles) on a trajectory reaching an altitude of 2,111.5 km
(1,312 miles), KCNA said.
Pyongyang
has regularly threatened to destroy the United States, which it accuses of
pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war by conducting recent
military drills with South Korea and Japan.
"FURTHER
SANCTIONS POSSIBLE"
In a
unanimously agreed statement, the 15-member UN Security Council said it was of
vital importance that North Korea show "sincere commitment to
denuclearization through concrete action and stressed the importance of working
to reduce tensions".
"To
that end, the Security Council demanded the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea conduct no further nuclear and ballistic missile tests," the council
said, adding that it was ready to impose further sanctions on the country.
The
statement also condemned an April 28 ballistic missile launch by Pyongyang.
Following
that launch, Washington began talks with China on possible new U.N. sanctions.
Traditionally, the United States and China have negotiated new measures before
involving remaining council members.
The U.N.
Security Council first imposed sanctions on North Korea in 2006 and has
strengthened the measures in response to its five nuclear tests and two
long-range rocket launches. Pyongyang is threatening a sixth nuclear test.
Trump warned
in an interview with Reuters this month that a "major, major
conflict" with North Korea was possible. In a show of force, the United
States sent an aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, to
waters off the Korean peninsula to conduct drills with South Korea and Japan.
Russian President
Vladimir Putin said in Beijing on Monday Moscow was opposed to any new
countries acquiring nuclear weapons, but that the world should talk to North
Korea rather than threaten it.
Apart from
worries about North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons programs, cyber
security researchers have found technical evidence they said could link North
Korea with the global WannaCry "ransomware" cyber attack that has
infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries since Friday.
Symantec and
Kaspersky Lab said on Monday some code in an earlier version of the WannaCry
software had also appeared in programs used by the Lazarus Group, which
researchers from many companies have identified as a North Korea-run hacking
operation.
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