Japan, ROK, US nuclear envoys to meet over N. Korea

North Korea has bragged about the testing internally, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un praising scientists in the country and telling his countrymen that more nuclear bombs would be created to show Western aggressors that North Korea is a formidable military force.

In a show of strength on Sunday, January 10 a B-52 Stratofortress – flanked by South Korean F-15 fighter jets and US F-16 planes – flew over Osan Air Base, some 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of the inter-Korean border.

The commander of combined forces, Curtis Scaparrotti, made the order during a visit to the Osan Air Base which is operated jointly by the US and South Korea, a United States Forces Korea (USFK) official said. DPRK mothballed the Yongbyon reactor in 2007 under an aid-for-disarmament accord, but began renovating it after its last nuclear test in 2013.

“But we’re still doing a lot of spade work on this”.

The UN Security Council earlier this week unanimously condemned North Korea’s most recent nuclear test, but Pyongyang maintains that it needs a deterrence that would shield the country against US-led attacks.

Now, according to the statement, North Korea “possesses the strongest deterrent forces”. Amid rapidly-building tensions, the South Korean media reported the U.S. could send B-2 bombers, nuclear-powered submarines and F-22 stealth fighter jets.

“This was a demonstration of the ironclad US commitment to our allies in South Korea, in Japan, and to the defense of the American homeland”, said PACOM Commander Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr.

An analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey fixed the coordinates of the bomb test in northeastern North Korea, an isolated and heavily forested area about 6,000 feet in elevation.

The US and South Korea are struggling to get unity on a response from China, which is North Korea’s main ally.

South Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator Hwang Joon Kook is expected to meet his United States and Japanese counterparts in Seoul tomorrow.

North Korea has been roundly condemned for its nuclear tests, including this one.

He said the restraint had become imperative because maintaining peace and stability of Northeast Asia served the common interests of all relevant parties.

Lawmakers are scheduled to vote Tuesday on the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act, which proposes to deny North Korea the hard currency they say it needs for its weapons programs.

South Korea has also stepped up efforts to engage its partners in the six-party talks on punitive measures against Pyongyang.

The annual US-South Korea joint military exercises regularly spark angry reactions from North Korea, which brands them “nuclear war drills” against it.

North Korea will nearly certainly see the flyby as a provocation, but so far has not issued an official response. “Such a development is a risk that would pose enormous challenges for South Korea”.