N. Korea vows to boost arms programmes

South Korea conducts cruise missile drill amid tensions

SEOUL, Sept 13, (Agencies): North Korea vowed Wednesday to accelerate its weapons programmes in response to “evil” sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council following its latest and most powerful nuclear test.

The respected 38 North website in the US raised its estimate for the yield from the explosion, which Pyongyang says was a hydrogen bomb small enough to fit onto a missile, to around 250 kilotons — more than 16 times the size of the device that devastated Hiroshima in 1945.

The detonation, Pyongyang’s sixth nuclear blast, prompted global condemnation and came after it carried out two intercontinental ballistic missile launches in July that appeared to bring much of the US into range.

The UN Security Council unanimously imposed an eighth set of sanctions on the North Monday, banning it from trading in textiles and restricting its oil imports, which US President Donald Trump said was a prelude to stronger measures.

The resolution, passed after Washington toned down its original proposals to secure backing from China and Russia, came just one month after the council banned exports of coal, lead and seafood in response to the ICBM launch.

The North’s foreign ministry condemned the new measures “in the strongest terms”, calling them a “full-scale economic blockade” driven by the US and aimed at “suffocating” its state and people.

It was “another illegal and evil ‘resolution on sanctions’ piloted by the US”, it said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

“The DPRK will redouble the efforts to increase its strength to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and right to existence,” the ministry said, using the abbreviation for the North’s official name.

But the South’s unification ministry described the statement as “the most low-key form of response from North Korea to UN Security Council resolutions”.

Seoul conducted its first live-fire exercise of its new long-range Taurus missile in response to the nuclear test, its Air Force said.

The German air-to-surface weapon was capable of precision strikes on key North Korean facilities even if launched from the central part of the South, it added.

The US and its allies argue that tougher sanctions will pile pressure on North Korea to negotiate an end to its weapons programmes but experts are sceptical.

Measures

US President Donald Trump said the latest measures were a “very small step — not a big deal” that must lead to tougher measures.

“Those sanctions are nothing compared to ultimately what will happen,” Trump said, but added that it was “nice to get a 15 to nothing vote”.

The North says it needs nuclear weapons to protect itself from “hostile” US forces and analysts believe Pyongyang’s weapons programme has made rapid progress under leader Kim Jong-Un, with previous sanctions having done little to deter it.

Government estimates of the yield from its sixth nuclear test vary from South Korea’s 50 kilotons to Japan’s 160, but 38 North, which is linked to Johns Hopkins University in the US, raised its estimate to “roughly 250 kilotons”, in line with upward revisions for the magnitude of the resulting tremor.

South Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said Wednesday it had collected a small amount of xenon-133 — a radioactive isotope of the inert gas that does not occur naturally — that was “linked to the latest nuclear test”.

But the commission said in a statement it was “unable to confirm what type of nuclear test was conducted”.

Washington had initially sought a full oil embargo and a freeze on the foreign assets of leader Kim Jong-Un in response to the blast, but dropped them following strong opposition from China and Russia.

The new resolution instead bans trade in textiles, cuts off natural gas shipments to North Korea, places a ceiling of 2 million barrels a year on deliveries of refined oil products and caps crude oil shipments at current levels. Retail petrol prices in the North jumped earlier this year, with some analysts suggesting the authorities were stockpiling in the expectation of a ban.

According to the US mission to the United Nations, the North imports around 8.5 million barrels a year of oil and oil products, 4 million as crude and 4.5 million in refined form — which includes substances such as petrol and diesel.

It added that the North’s textile exports averaged $760 million a year.

Authorisations

The UN resolution also barred countries from issuing new authorisations to North Korean workers sent abroad. There are almost 100,000 of them, according to the US mission, earning more than $500 million a year for the regime.

Under the measure, joint ventures with North Korean entities are prohibited, while governments are authorised to inspect ships suspected of carrying banned cargo from the country, but must first seek the consent of the vessels’ flag state.

Meanwhile, South Korea said Wednesday it had conducted its first live-fire drill for an advanced air-launched cruise missile that would strengthen its pre-emptive strike capability against North Korea in the event of crisis.

South Korea’s military said the Taurus missile fired from an F-15 fighter jet traveled through obstacles at low altitudes before hitting a target off the country’s western coast during drills Tuesday.

The missile, manufactured by Germany’s Taurus Systems, has a maximum range of 500 kms (310 miles) and is equipped with stealth characteristics that will allow it to avoid radar detection before hitting North Korean targets, according to Seoul’s Defense Ministry.

South Korea has been accelerating efforts to ramp up its military capabilities in face of a torrent of nuclear weapons tests by North Korea, which on Sept 3 conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date.

Shortly after the nuke test, Seoul announced it reached an agreement with Washington to remove the warhead weight limits on South Korean ballistic missiles, which under a bilateral guideline could be built for a maximum range of 800 kms (497 miles).

A pre-emptive strike against Pyongyang’s leadership would be difficult to undertake, but it’s widely seen as the most realistic of the limited military options Seoul has to deny a nuclear attack from its rival.

In related news, the standoff over North Korea could lead to “nuclear war”, a Japanese pro-wrestler turned lawmaker warned on Wednesday, urging nations to dial down the tension after the isolated country fired a missile over northern Japan last month.

Tokyo could play a role in mediating with its neighbour, said the 74-year-old Antonio Inoki, who is known for fighting boxer Muhammad Ali four decades ago.

“We are seeing a situation where each raises his fist and the situation is escalating,” Inoki, who recently returned from his 32nd visit to Pyongyang, told a news conference, wearing his signature red scarf.

“It’s important to see who can be the first to lower his fist and reduce the tension,” said Inoki, who, like US basketball star Dennis Rodman, has made numerous visits to North Korea.

Pyongyang must commit to denuclearisation as a prerequisite for talks, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in an interview with the Nikkei business daily published on Wednesday.