North Korea
said on Wednesday its newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
can carry a large nuclear warhead, triggering a call by Washington for global
action to hold it accountable for pursuing nuclear weapons.
A
spokeswoman for the U.S. Defense Department said it had concluded that North
Korea test-launched an ICBM on Tuesday, which some experts now believe had the
range to reach the U.S. state of Alaska as well as parts of the mainland United
States.
U.S.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the test, on the eve of the U.S.
Independence Day holiday, represented "a new escalation of the threat"
to the United States and its allies, and vowed to take stronger measures.
North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un said the test completed his country's strategic weapons
capability that includes atomic and hydrogen bombs and ICBMs, the state KCNA
news agency said.
Pyongyang
would not negotiate with the United States to give up those weapons until
Washington abandons its hostile policy against the North, KCNA quoted Kim as
saying.
"He,
with a broad smile on his face, told officials, scientists and technicians that
the U.S. would be displeased ... as it was given a 'package of gifts' on its
'Independence Day'," KCNA said.
Kim ordered
them to "frequently send big and small 'gift packages' to the
Yankees," it added.
The launch
came days before leaders from the Group of 20 nations are due to discuss steps
to rein in North Korea's weapons program, which it has pursued in defiance of
United Nations Security Council sanctions.
The test
successfully verified the technical requirements of the newly developed ICBM in
stage separation, the atmospheric re-entry of the warhead and the late-stage
control of the warhead, KCNA said.
Tillerson
warned that any country that hosts North Korean workers, provides economic or
military aid to Pyongyang, or fails to implement U.N. sanctions "is aiding
and abetting a dangerous regime".
"All
nations should publicly demonstrate to North Korea that there are consequences
to their pursuit of nuclear weapons," Tillerson said in a statement
DIPLOMATIC
PRESSURE
U.S.
President Donald Trump has been urging China, North Korea's main trading
partner and only big ally, to press Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program.
The U.N.
Security Council, currently chaired by China, will hold an emergency meeting on
the matter at 3 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, following a request by the United
States, Japan and South Korea.
Diplomats
say Beijing has not been fully enforcing existing international sanctions on
its neighbor, and has resisted tougher measures, such as an oil embargo, bans
on the North Korean airline and guest workers, and measures against Chinese
banks and other firms doing business with the North.
A 2015 U.N.
document estimated that more than 50,000 North Korean workers were overseas
earning currencies for the regime, with the vast majority in China and Russia.
North Korea
appeared to have used a Chinese truck, originally sold for hauling timber, but
later converted for military use, to transport and erect the missile on
Tuesday.
Trump has
indicated he is running out of patience with Beijing's efforts to rein in North
Korea. His administration has said all options are on the table, military
included, but suggested those would be a last resort and that sanctions and
diplomatic pressure were its preferred course.
Trump is due
to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin
during the G20 meeting in Germany this week.
Russia and
China joined diplomatic forces on Tuesday and called for North Korea to suspend
its ballistic missile program in return for a moratorium on large-scale
military exercises by the United States and South Korea.
The U.S. and
South Korean militaries conducted a ballistic missile test early on Wednesday
in a show of force on the east coast of the Korean peninsula. The South said
the drill aimed to showcase the ability to strike at the North's leadership if
necessary.
"It's
discouraging that the Chinese (and Russians) are still calling for 'restraint
by all sides', despite the fact that their client state, North Korea, has cast
aside all restraint and is sprinting for the finish line in demonstrating a
nuclear-armed ICBM capability," said Daniel Russel, formerly Washington’s
top East Asia diplomat, now a diplomat in residence at the Asia Society Policy
Institute
LONG-RANGE
MISSILE
The North's
state media said the missile, Hwasong-14, flew 933 km (580 miles), reaching an
altitude of 2,802 km (1,741 miles) in its 39 minutes of flight.
Some
analysts said the flight details suggested the new missile had a range of more
than 8,000 km (4,970 miles), which would put significant parts of the U.S.
mainland in range, a major advance in the North's program.
The launch
was both earlier and "far more successful than expected", said
U.S.-based missile expert John Schilling, a contributor to the Washington-based
North Korea monitoring project, 38 North.
It would now
probably only be a year or two before a North Korean ICBM achieved
"minimal operational capability," he added.
Experts say
a reliable nuclear-tipped ICBM would require a small warhead to fit a
long-range missile, technology to protect against intense heat as it re-enters
the atmosphere, separate the warhead and guide it to its target.
South Korean
President Moon Jae-in, who ordered Wednesday's drill, said, "The situation
was no longer sufficient to respond to the North's provocation by making
statements," according to his office.
Tuesday's
missile test poses fresh challenges for Moon, who took office in May with a
pledge to engage the North in dialogue while keeping up pressure and sanctions
to impede its weapons programs.
His defense
minister, Han Min-koo, told parliament on Wednesday there was a high possibility
of a sixth nuclear test by the North, but there were no specific indications
0 Comments