May condemns North Korea nuclear threat
‘DANGEROUS AND ILLEGAL’: KIM CLAIMS TO HAVE WARHEAD FOR MISSILE
NORTH KOREA’S latest nuclear test poses an “unacceptable further threat to the international community”, Theresa May said, as she urged world leaders to increase pressure on Pyongyang.
The Prime Minister said the test nuclear explosion was “reckless” and said the case for tougher action against Kim Jong Un’s regime was now even more pressing. Her comments came after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson warned that North Korea could present a “new order of threat” if it succeeds in producing a hydrogen bomb small enough to fit on a ballistic missile. The test came after pictures were published of Kim examining what was said to be a nuclear warhead being fitted on to the nose of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Mrs May said: “This latest action by North Korea is reckless and poses an unacceptable further threat to the international community.” She said she had discussed the “serious and grave threat these dangerous and illegal actions present” with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during her visit to the country last week and reiterated their joint call for “tougher action, including increasing the pace of implementation of existing sanctions and looking urgently in the UN Security Council at new measures”.
The United States has warned of a “massive military response” to any threat following the underground test of what North Korea called a hydrogen bomb.
THE PRESIDENT of the United States of America has joined condemnation of North Korea after it apparently detonated a nuclear device in its sixth and most powerful test to date.
President Donald Trump branded North Korea “a rogue nation” whose “words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous” to the United States.
Mr Trump tweeted that North Korea “has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success”.
Though the precise strength of the blast has yet to be determined, the artificial earthquake it caused was several times stronger than tremors generated by its previous tests. Based on the strength of the tremors, the device could be eight times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
North Korea’s state-run television broadcast a special bulletin on Sunday afternoon to announce the test.
It said leader Kim Jong Un attended a meeting of the ruling party’s presidium and signed the go-ahead order.
Mr Trump warned “we’ll see” when asked if he would attack North Korea. He also suggested pressing China, the North’s patron for many decades and a vital US trading partner, on the economic front, in the hope of persuading Beijing to exert leverage on its neighbour.
He tweeted that the US is considering “stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea”.
Pentagon chief James Mattis later said: “Any threat to the United States or its territories – including Guam – or our allies will be met with a massive military response, a response both effective and overwhelming.”
The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss an international response, according to the US mission.
China’s foreign ministry said that the Chinese government has “expressed firm opposition and strong condemnation”. It urged North Korea to “stop taking erroneous actions that deteriorate the situation”.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said “all options are on the table” but played down the prospect of military action because Kim’s forces could “vaporise” large parts of the population of South Korea even without nuclear weapons.
Calling for a “common-sense” approach, he said: “There is no question that this is another provocation, it is reckless; what they are doing is, they seem to be moving closer towards a hydrogen bomb which, if fitted to a successful missile, would unquestionably present a new order of threat.
“We have to consider how to respond and it’s our view in the UK, overwhelmingly, that peaceful diplomatic means are the best.”
Asked how close the crisis was to conflict, Mr Johnson said: “It’s certainly our view that none of the military options are good.
“It is of course right to say that all options are on the table, but we really don’t see an easy military solution.”
Mr Johnson urged Beijing to go further in putting economic pressure on its neighbour.
He said: “Our message to the Chinese is, and we are working ever more closely with them, we think there is more scope for you, the Chinese, to put economic pressure on the North Koreans.
“It has worked, we have seen signs in the last six months of Chinese pressure actually changing the approach of North Koreans – let’s see if we can do it again.”
South Korea held a National Security Council meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in.
National Security Director Chung Eui-yong said Mr Moon will seek every available measure, including new UN sanctions, to further isolate Pyongyang.
Words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous. President Donald Trump, who has branded North Korea a rogue nation.
NOT SINCE the end of the Cold War has the terrifying spectre of nuclear conflict loomed so large as it does now, as the result of North Korea’s latest act of aggression in detonating a hydrogen bomb.
Coming only days after this rogue state fired a missile over Japan, prompting international condemnation, the nuclear explosion that caused shockwaves to be felt in China and Russia represents a worrying escalation of the tensions between North Korea and the West.
The country’s dictator, Kim Jong-un, has so far appeared impervious to all appeals to abandon his nuclear programme, and even crippling sanctions against a North Korean economy already on its knees have left him unmoved.
Whilst Kim’s characteristically lurid claims about his ability to deliver a hydrogen bomb by missile should be treated with caution, it is clear that the threat he poses is increasing.
The international community must now speak with one voice to combat that threat. China, fearful of a flood of refugees across its border if the North Korean regime crumbles, has so far been too muted in its response to Kim’s aggression.
It must now tell him in uncompromising terms that the sabre-rattling has to stop, or the economic support that props up his state will end. And the US must redouble its efforts to work with China in bringing about a diplomatic solution. A fine line needs to be trodden between persuading Kim that he faces overwhelmingly destructive force, whilst not panicking him into doing the unthinkable.