North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile Saturday, in apparent defiance of a concerted US push for tougher international sanctions on the communist state over its nuclear program.
The latest launch came just hours after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned the UN Security Council of “catastrophic consequences” if the international community — most notably China — failed to pressure the North into abandoning its weapons program.
Military options for dealing with the North were still “on the table”, Tillerson warned in his first address to the UN body.
The launch ratchets up tensions on the Korean peninsula, with Washington and Pyongyang locked in an ever-tighter spiral of threat, counter-threat, and escalating military preparedness.
US President Donald Trump, who has warned of a “major conflict” with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s regime, said the latest test was a pointed snub to China — the North’s main ally and economic lifeline.
“North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!” Trump tweeted.
The US is deploying a naval strike group led by an aircraft carrier to the Korean peninsula, and a missile-defense system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) that officials say will be operational “within days”.
North Korea recently conducted its biggest-ever firing drill and has threatened to “bury at sea” the US aircraft carrier, and there are signs it could be preparing for a sixth nuclear test.
South Korea’s defense ministry said it suspected Saturday’s missile test had failed after a brief flight, while the US military’s Pacific Command confirmed the rocket did not leave North Korean territory.
Japan has lodged a “serious protest and criticism” to the North, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters after a national security council meeting.
Source: AFP
