Missiles may be able to carry sarin, Japan warns
Missiles may be able to carry nerve agent: PM
BEIJING • North Korea may already have the capability to launch missiles carrying the nerve agent sarin, Japan has warned.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday the security situation in the region was growing “increasingly severe,” amid rising concern that Pyongyang was poised to throw down the gauntlet to U.S. President Donald Trump with a nuclear test.
“We have just talked about Syria. There is a possibility that North Korea already has a capability to put sarin on warheads to strike the ground,” Abe told parliament’s diplomacy and defence committee.
International tensions have been mounting after analysts said Pyongyang was preparing a nuclear test site to mark the 105th anniversary of its first supreme leader Kim Il-sung’s birth Friday. North Korea has been known to test its military hardware on the anniversary before.
Meanwhile, a U.S. navy strike group continued to steam to North Korean waters, a show of force by Trump after he vowed that Washington would act alone to confront the reclusive state over its military buildup.
Trump is concerned over leader Kim Jong Un’s plans to develop a missile that could reach the continental United States, although he is thought to be more likely to target either South Korea or Japan with a strike.
North Korea is not a signatory to the international Chemical Weapons Convention. It is thought to have as many as 5,000 tonnes of chemical weapons, a stockpile that reportedly has 25 types of agents, including sarin.
Pyongyang has carried out five nuclear tests since 2006, including two last year.
A Washington- based think-tank that monitors North Korea, 38 North, said satellite images on Wednesday showed activity around its Punggye-ri nuclear test site near the east coast that indicated it was ready for a new test.
However, South Korean officials said there was no increased activity to suggest that a test was imminent, while Japan said military action was unlikely.
A sixth nuclear test would be in breach of U.S. sanctions and a direct challenge to Trump, who has been warning Pyongyang that Washington’s patience is at an end.
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi attempted to ease tensions Thursday.
“Military force cannot resolve the issue,” Wang said, in comments which echoed those of Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, who called for a peaceful resolution to the North Korean issue in a phone call with Trump on Wednesday.