N. KOREA SANCTIONS
of the emergency meeting requested by the US, Japan and South Korea to discuss a course of action on North Korea.
The US has for weeks been negotiating a new Security Council sanctions resolution with China, but US ambassador Nikki Haley said last week that no final draft text had been clinched.
“This is the same movie that keeps playing. He continues to test. We’ve got to do action,” Haley told MSNBC television.
“You know, some say, ‘Oh, but sanctions haven’t worked’. First of all, when the entire international community speaks with one voice, it does work,” she countered.
“It lets them know that they are on an island and we’re all against them, and that they need to correct their behaviour.”
North Korea on Sunday launched the Pukguksong-2, described by Washington as a medium-range missile, from Pukchang in South Pyongan province.
It travelled about 500km before landing in the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea's armed forces.
The launch was the latest in a series this year as Pyongyang steps up its efforts to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the US.
“These actions threaten regional and international security,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said..
“We call on the DPRK (North Korea) to stop further testing and allow space to explore the resumption of meaningful dialogue.”
The North, which says it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself against the threat of invasion, later said it “flatly rejected” the UN statement, which had been drawn up by “the US and its followers”.
The US says it is willing to enter into talks with North Korea if it halts its nuclear and missile tests. AFP