North Korea has test-fired a
ballistic missile, according to the South Korean and US
military, defying pressure from the US and the North’s main
ally, China.
US
and South Korean officials said Saturday’s test, from an area north of the
North Korean capital Pyongyang, appeared to have failed, in what would be a
fourth successive unsuccessful missile test since March.
The
test came as Rex Tillerson, US secretary of state, gave warning that the
UN Security Council that failure to curb North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic
missile programmes could lead to “catastrophic consequences”.
US officials, speaking on condition
of anonymity, told Reuters the missile was probably a medium-range weapon known
as a KN-17 and appeared to have broken up within minutes of taking off.
South Korea’s military said the missile, fired from the Pukchang
region in a northeasterly direction, reached an altitude of 71km before
disintegrating a few minutes into flight.
Al Jazeera’s Wayne Hay, reporting from Seoul, said: “The failed
test launch was inland … possibly it could mean that this was not necessarily
new technology and not necessarily a new type of missile that they were
testing. Perhaps something they have tested before.
“Obviously, if it is inland, it is going to be launched over
potentially populated areas, so there is a certain amount of confidence there,
that it is not going to fail, that it is going to fly over those populated
areas out to sea before it crashes. It is also possibly a clue that this was a
medium-range missile.”
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, said in London on Saturday
that North Korea’s decision to test-fire a ballistic missile represents a grave
threat to his country.
He called on the US and China to keep up pressure on North
Korea.
“Despite strong warnings by the international community, North
Korea today went through its ballistic missile launch,” he said.
“It is a grave threat to our country. This is absolutely not
acceptable. We strongly condemn such acts.”
The North has been conducting missile and nuclear weapons
related activities at an unprecedented rate since the beginning of the year and
is believed to have made some progress in developing intermediate-range and
submarine-launched missiles.
The launch comes amid high tensions on the Korean Peninsula and
warnings from US President Donald Trump’s administration that it is running out
of patience.
“North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly
respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today.
Bad!,” Trump said in a post on Twitter after the launch.
On Friday, the US pushed for tougher sanctions to confront the
North Korean threat, piling pressure on China to rein in its ally while warning
it was keeping military options “on the table”.
But both China and Russia rejected US threat of military force
at a meeting of the Security Council on the matter.
Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, told the 15-member council it
was not only up to China to solve the North Korean problem.
“The key to solving the nuclear issue on the peninsula does not
lie in the hands of the Chinese side,” Wang told the council.
No comments:
Post a Comment