FASO: TRUMP ON RIGHT COURSE WITH N. KOREA
Congressman lauds bringing China into talks with Kim Jong Un
As North Korea launched a new type “medium long-range ballistic missile” claimed capable of carrying a heavy nuclear warhead, U. S. Rep. John Faso praised the countervailing policies of the Trump administration.
Faso, R-Kinderhook, said the administration is appropriately applying diplomatic, economic and, to a lesser extent, military pressure on North Korea.
“Successive administrations over 25 years have attempted to engage China unsuccessfully, but, for the first time, the Chinese appear to be focused on containing the nuclear ambitions of North Korea, so I think the ( Trump) administration is pursuing a correct strategy,” Faso said. “But, its overwhelming emphasis is diplomatic and economic sanctions.”
Analysts said the most recent launch constituted a significant technological jump, with the test-fire apparently flying higher and for a longer time period than any other such previous missile.
Amid condemnation in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington, a jubilant North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised more nuclear and missile tests and warned that his country’s weapons could strike the U. S. mainland and Pacific holdings. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency called the missile a “new ground-to- ground medium long-range strategic ballistic rocket,” and said the “Hwasong-12” was “capable of carrying a large, heavy nuclear warhead.”
Several South Korean analysts, including Lee Illwoo, a Seoul-based commentator on military issues, said the missile flew higher and for a longer period than any other the North has ever test-fired. North Korea has also launched satellites into orbit on long-range rockets that share some of the same technology as missiles.
North Korea is not thought to be able yet to make a nuclear warhead small enough to mount on a long-range missile, though some outside analysts think it can arm shorterrange missiles with warheads. Each new nuclear and longerrange missile test is part of the North’s attempt to build a nuclear- tipped intercontinental ballistic missile.
The U. S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, said on ABC television that the United States has been working well with China, Pyongyang’s closest ally, and raised the possibility
of new sanctions against North Korea, including on oil imports.
President Donald Trump’s administration has called North Korean ballistic and nuclear efforts unacceptable, but it has swung between threats of military action and offers to talk as it formulates a policy.
While Trump has said
he’d be “honored” to talk with leader Kim under favorable conditions, Haley seemed to rule out the possibility. “Having a missile test is not the way to sit down with the president, because he’s absolutely not going to do it,” she told ABC.
The White House, in a statement, said that North Korea has been “a flagrant menace for far too long.”