Trump calls for tougher sanctions after North Korea missile

Agence France-Presse

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Trump calls for tougher sanctions after North Korea missile
(6th UPDATE) New South Korean President Moon Jae-In also condemns the test as a 'reckless provocation' that poses a 'grave challenge' to the international community

SEOUL, South Korea (6th UPDATE) – US President Donald Trump called for tougher sanctions against North Korea after it test-fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, May 14, in an apparent attempt to test the South’s new liberal president and the US.

“Let this latest provocation serve as a call for all nations to implement far stronger sanctions against North Korea,” the White House said in a brief statement.

The missile flew more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) before landing in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

It impacted “so close to Russian soil … the president cannot imagine that Russia is pleased,” the White House said, adding that North Korea “has been a flagrant menace for far too long.”

Russia’s defense ministry later said the missile landed about 500 km from its border and posed no threat. 

Trump’s national security adviser, HR McMaster, had phone conversations with his counterparts in Japan and South Korea to discuss the situation.  

China, which has been under growing US pressure to help rein in the nuclear-armed North, called for restraint.

“All relevant parties should exercise restraint and refrain from further aggravating tensions in the region,” the foreign ministry said.

Multiple sets of UN and US sanctions against North Korea have done little to deter it from pursuing its nuclear and missile ambitions.

Before the missile test, the US Treasury said it was considering “every tool in our arsenal” to cut off sources of international financing for illegal activities in the North.

Trump has threatened military action but recently appeared to have softened his stance, saying he would be “honored” to meet leader Kim Jong-Un under the right conditions.

New South Korean President Moon Jae-In, who was inaugurated on Wednesday, May 10, has also been conciliatory. But he slammed the missile test as a “reckless provocation” after holding an emergency meeting with national security advisers.

Moon said Seoul strongly condemned this “grave challenge to the peace and security of the Korean peninsula and the international community,” according to his spokesman Yoon Young-Chan. (READ: North Korea missile tests ‘disturbing’ for PH – expert

‘Seeking leverage’

Moon, unlike his conservative predecessors, advocates reconciliation with Pyongyang but warned Sunday that dialogue would be possible “only if the North changes its attitude.”

Moon had said in his inauguration speech that he was willing to visit Pyongyang “in the right circumstances” to ease tensions.

The North itself would be willing to hold talks with the US if the conditions are right, according to Choe Son-Hui, a senior official at the North’s foreign ministry, on Saturday, May 13. 

“The North is apparently trying to test Moon and see how his North Korea policy as well as policy coordination between the South and the US will take shape,” said Yang Moo-Jin, professor at the University of North Korea Studies in Seoul.

The launch was also aimed at “maximizing the North’s political leverage” ahead of possible negotiations with the US, as Pyongyang and Washington both recently signaled they were open to talks, he added.

“The North wants to show before negotiations that their precious, powerful weapon is not something they would give up so easily,” Yang said.

The missile test is likely to embarrass Beijing, which was hosting an international summit on Sunday to promote its ambitious global trade infrastructure project.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping discussed the Korean situation on the sidelines of the meeting and “both parties expressed their concern over the escalation of tensions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The European Union, in a statement in Brussels, called the test-launch a “threat to international peace and security.”

But China, the isolated North’s sole major ally and economic lifeline, has been reluctant to upset the status quo in Pyongyang and risk an influx of refugees from its neighbor.

‘Fast progress’

The latest test was the North’s first launch since a controversial US missile defense system deployed in the South became operational on May 2. It follows a failed April 29 ballistic missile test by Pyongyang.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe slammed the latest launch as “totally unacceptable” and a “grave threat” to Tokyo.

The North has staged two atomic tests and dozens of missile launches since the start of last year in its quest to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the US mainland.

The US Pacific Command said Sunday’s launch did not appear to be an ICBM.

Yang said however it showed “fast progress” in Pyongyang’s missile capability.

The missile was fired from a site near the northwestern city of Kusong. A previous test at the same site in February sent a missile 500 kilometers, far less than Sunday’s launch. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!