Japan calls for ‘united and clear’ UN message to North Korea

North Korea fired three ballistic missiles Monday September 5, 2016 morning, according to South Korea’s military.

The country’s ruler attended test firing of ballistic rockets by the Korean People’s Army (KPA) and the state-run media reported Kim “stressed the need to continue making miraculous achievements in bolstering up the nuclear force”.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approached South Korean President Park Gewn-hye during a coffee break at the G-20 and agreed to cooperate closely.

Japan’s Kyodo news agency said all three missiles Monday fell in Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan, which the Koreas call the East Sea.

The DPRK has recently voiced its opposition to the joint military drills conducted by the United States and South Korea in the region, which concluded last Friday, with the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise comprising some 25,000 U.S. troops.

In June, North Korea tested its fifth and sixth intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

Japan’s U.N. Ambassador Koro Bessho made the appeal Tuesday as he headed into closed emergency consultations called by the USA and Japan in response to Monday’s launches.

The UN and the West have imposed a raft of sanctions on North Korea, prompting Pyongyang to step up its nuclear activities.

The JCS official added, “North Korea’s ballistic missile launches again violate UN Security Council resolutions”.

In January, North Korea said it had successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb, its fourth nuclear test, and vowed to build up its nuclear program as deterrence against potential aggression from the USA and its regional allies.

VIENTIANE, Laos-President Barack Obama said the US would work to intensify United Nations sanctions on North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s firing of three ballistic missiles on Monday.

A proven submarine-launched ballistic missile system would allow deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a “second-strike” capability in the event of an attack on the North’s military bases.

The White House noted the US remains committed to moving ahead with the planned deployment of a major anti-missile system in South Korea.

Obama also said the US was still open to the possibility of talks with North Korea if it were to recognize its worldwide obligations and work to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Her remarks follow the August 24 launch by the DPRK of a submarine-launched ballistic missile.

Kim described the August test as the “greatest success” and said it put the USA mainland within striking range. The U.S. also plans to bring up the issue during the East Asia summit in Laos this week.

It also came four days before the 68th anniversary of the founding of North Korea’s government, and just days after South Korean and United States troops ended annual joint military drills.

Power said North Korea has carried out 22 missile launches so far this year and the latest hit “within 300 kilometers of Japan’s coast”.