South Korea and U.S. officials vowed "strong punitive steps" against Kim Jong Un's regime if it continued provocations after North Korea appeared to conduct a failed missile test on Wednesday.
Meeting in Seoul, Kim Hong-kyun, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his U.S. counterpart Joseph Yun reaffirmed a commitment to push Kim harder to drop its push for nuclear weapons. Recent provocations are probably a prelude to the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to a South Korean foreign ministry statement.
The South Korean defense ministry earlier said that North Korea appeared to have fired an unidentified missile from its Wonsan air base in the east. If confirmed, it would be the third round of missile tests by North Korea this year, as it seeks to develop the capability to deliver a nuclear weapon to the U.S. in defiance of United Nations sanctions.
South Korea's Kim and the U.S.'s Yun agreed that all countries including China must strictly implement U.N. sanctions against North Korea, according to the foreign ministry. They said that it's important to cut off sources of the regime's foreign-currency income and limit the activity of its people working abroad to further isolate it diplomatically and economically.
Kim, who has launched a series of projectiles and conducted three nuclear tests since he came to power more than five years ago, claimed in January to be in the final stage of preparations to test-fire an ICBM. North Korea fired four missiles this month that reached as far as Japan's exclusive economic zone.
The Trump administration has taken a harder line toward the regime, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson saying last week that all options, including military, are on the table. On a trip to North Asia, Tillerson said 20 years of diplomatic efforts had failed to counter North Korea's nuclear program and he didn't rule out a preemptive strike.
President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that Kim is behaving "very badly" and China has done little to bring its neighbor into line. China, North Korea's closest ally and biggest trading partner, banned coal imports from the nation earlier this year.
North Korea responded to Tillerson's visit by saying it's not afraid of his stance and the U.S. needs to understand its pursuit of a nuclear deterrent, according to KCNA. Last weekend, Kim's regime hailed the ground test of a high-thrust engine that it said was developed for its space program.
Tillerson's suggestion the U.S. would consider military options isn't realistic given the ability of North Korea to retaliate and inflict immeasurable damage on the densely packed South Korean population, according to Robert Kelly, a political science associate professor at South Korea's Pusan National University.
"The military option sounds like Trumpian-alpha-male bravado to me," Kelly said. "The Trump people don't really have a strategy. They say there's a policy review, but who is leading it?"
North Korea began this year's launches by firing an intermediate-range Pukguksong-2 ballistic missile in February, drawing a joint rebuke from Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who were meeting in Florida.
Kim's regime fired at least 25 projectiles in 2016, according to the U.N., which bans it from pursuing ballistic missile technology because it could be used to deliver nuclear warheads. Pyongyang also detonated two nuclear devices last year.
The Washington Post
Wed Mar 22 2017
FILE PHOTO - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects a sub-unit under KPA Unit 1344 in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang November 9, 2016. REUTERS/KCNA
Mohd Azizulhasni tekad dikalungkan pingat emas di Paris
Azizulhasni tekad untuk 'dikalungkan' pingat emas pertama Malaysia di Sukan Olimpik Paris 2024 pada penampilan terakhirnya di temasya itu.
USM cipta rekod hasilkan kaligrafi Cina 2.68km
Penuntut USM cipta rekod dalam MBOR apabila menghasilkan penulisan kaligrafi Cina sepanjang 2.68 kilometer.
MITRA sudah belanja RM40 juta daripada peruntukan RM100 juta tahun ini
Sebanyak RM40 juta daripada peruntukan RM100 juta yang disalurkan kerajaan tahun ini kepada MITRA telah dimanfaatkan untuk pelbagai program.
Laporan Pasaran Labuan IBFC 2023 tunjukkan pemulihan kukuh, pertumbuhan luar biasa
Laporan Labuan IBFC 2023 mendedahkan pertumbuhan luar biasa wilayah itu yang menyumbang RM1.2 bilion kepada hasil fiskal Malaysia dan melepasi paras RM1 bilion buat pertama kalinya.
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Guinea-Bissau akur kepada Israel, tidak beri kebenaran guna bendera bagi misi pelayaran
Kerajaan Republik Guinea-Bissau dilaporkan tunduk dan akur kepada gesaan Israel untuk tidak membenarkan misi pelayaran Break The Siege: Freedom Flotilla to Gaza menggunakan bendera mereka.
Penyakit berkaitan haba dikhuatiri meningkat di Gaza
Penularan penyakit berkaitan haba panas menjadi kebimbangan terbaharu di Gaza selepas suhu luar jangka melampau melanda wilayah itu setiap hari. Ia sudah semestinya diburukkan lagi dengan kekurangan air bersih dan ketiadaan sistem pembuangan sisa pepejal yang sepatutnya wujud di sesebuah kawasan didiami manusia.
Ilhan Omar melawat peserta tunjuk perasaan
Wakil Dewan Perwakilan Amerika Syarikat (AS) Ilhan Omar mengadakan lawatan di kampus penyokong Pro Palestin di Universiti Columbia New York pada Khamis.
Dua lelaki didakwa jadi 'tali barut' kepada China
Dua lelaki yang mana salah seorangnya pernah bertugas di Parlimen United Kingdom (UK) enjalani proses perbicaraan di mahkamah London pada Jumaat selepas didakwa menjadi tali barut menyalurkan maklumat sulit kerajaan kepada negara tembok besar itu.
Polis serbu pejabat 'Save the Children' di Guatemala
Polis Guatemala melakukan serbuan mengejut ke atas pejabat-pejabat Pertubuhan Save the Children di pelbagai lokasi di negara itu. Ia bagi mencari bukti dakwaan pertubuhan yang memperjuangkan kebajikan kanak-kanak itu, terlibat dalam jenayah penderaan terhadap golongan itu.
LIMA '25 dianjurkan pada 20-24 Mei tahun depan
Pameran Maritim dan Aeroangkasa Antarabangsa Langkawi 2025 (LlMA ‘25) akan dianjurkan pada 20 hingga 24 Mei tahun depan bertemakan Innovate Today, Thrive Tomorrow.