BEIJING, SEOUL VOW ‘STRONG MEASURES’ AGAINST N. KOREA
Warning comes amidst speculation Pyongyang is readying for another nuclear test
SEOUL marks anniversaries including the 105th birthday of its founding leader on Saturday, sometimes celebrated with a demonstration of military might.
US President Donald Trump, fresh from a missile strike on Syria that was widely interpreted as a warning to North Korea, has asked his advisers for a range of options to rein in its ambitions, a top US official said on Sunday.
The talks between Kim and Wu came shortly after Trump hosted Chinese leader Xi Jinping for a summit at which he pressed Beijing to do more to curb the North’s nuclear ambitions.
“(We) are prepared to chart our own course if this is something China is just unable to coordinate with us,” US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said after the summit.
He added however that Beijing had indicated a willingness to act on the issue.
“We need to allow them time to take actions,” Tillerson said, adding that Washington had no intention of attempting to remove the regime of Kim JongUn.
The US Navy strike group, Carl Vinson, cancelled a planned trip to Australia this weekend, heading toward the Korean peninsula instead, in a move that will raise tensions in the region.
Seoul and Washington are also conducting joint military drills, an annual exercise which is seen by the North as preparation for war.
The isolated North is barred under UN resolutions from any use of ballistic missile technology, but repeated rounds of sanctions have failed to arrest its nuclear ambitions.
South Korea’s Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said yesterday that the repercussions of a potential military response were worrying.
“Pre-emptive strikes may be aimed at resolving North Korea’s nuclear problems, but for us, it is also related to defending the safety of the public,” he said.
While a US unilateral strike on North Korea from a shorter range might be more effective, it would likely endanger many civilians in the South and risk triggering a broader military conflict, experts warn.
“The US has always had all the options on the table from a preventive strike to pre-emptive strike to negotiations,” said James Kim, an analyst at Asan Institute for Policy Studies here.
“If it’s a preventive strike or precision strike, there’s danger that this could expand into a broader regional conflict involving China or Japan.
“The upside is that the United States may be able to denuclearise the North by force... but it will come at a huge cost to the region and to the United States.” he said. AFP