Kim orders stronger strike power

Military posturing after US seizes ship

THE leader of North Korea ordered its military to boost its strike capability as he directed another missile firing, state media said yesterday, as tensions grew over tests that appeared to show development of a new advanced missile system.

Kim Jong-un’s call for a “full combat posture” follows the US seizure of a large North Korean cargo ship accused of illicit coal shipments in violation of UN sanctions.

The increased tensions come amid a gridlock in dialogue after the second summit between Kim and US president Donald Trump collapsed over the US’S demands for Pyongyang’s nuclear disarmament and Kim’s demands for relief from sanctions.

“(Kim) stressed the need to further increase the capability of the defence units in the forefront area and on the western front to carry out combat tasks and keep full combat posture to cope with any emergency,” KCNA news agency reported.

Trump and South Korean president Moon Jae-in said the latest missile tests were not helpful, but suggested they would not scupper dialogue.

The latest tests were swiftly followed by US test-launches of the intercontinental ballistic missile Minuteman III over the Pacific and the Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) off Florida.

They also coincided with a visit to the South by US special envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun, who met his South Korean counterpart and was scheduled to hold talks with presidential Blue House and Unification Ministry officials.

During his meeting with South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyungwha yesterday, Biegun said “the door is still open for North Korea to return to the negotiating table”, and that it was important for South Korea and the US to continue communication and co-operation, the ministry said in a statement.

Japan, which is in striking distance of North Korean missiles and saw them fly over its territory before Kim’s self-declared moratorium on long-range missile launches in April last year, said the latest missile tests violated UN resolutions. |

ANA PALESTINIANS climb over a section of the controversial Israeli barrier as they try to make their way to attend the first Friday prayers of Ramadaan in Jerusalem’s Al-aqsa Mosque, near Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank yesterday. | MOHAMAD TOROKMAN REUTERS