Korea, U.S. to push for new sanctions against North

In the United States, members of Congress held a hearing to review ways to press North Korea to dial back its nuclear ambitions, with proposals ranging from providing South Korea with terminal high altitude area defense missiles to pushing China to cut off North Korea’s access to Chinese banks. South Korea fired up the speakers again on Friday, two days after the North’s fourth nuclear test. In response, the North has started low-level broadcasts of its own and sent thousands of propaganda leaflets across the border.

The North has previously flown drones across the border when inter-Korean military tensions shot up in August following its landmine provocations that maimed two South Korean soldiers.

But after North Korea carried out on January 6 a nuclear test – which it claimed to be of a hydrogen bomb – the WEF said the country’s delegation would be subject to “existing and possible forthcoming sanctions”.

South Korea warned North Korea on Wednesday that the United States and its allies were working on sanctions to inflict “bone-numbing pain” after its latest nuclear test, and called on China to do its part to rein in its isolated neighbor.

Diplomats at a U.N. Security Council emergency session pledged to swiftly pursue new sanctions.

For nearly a decade, sanctions have been the principal coercive instrument available to the United States and the global community in trying to deal with North Korea’s nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missile programs.

“I think the Chinese will agree with us”.

The development of a nuclear weapons capability has been used by Kim as his primary tool in intimidating his outside enemies from seriously considering any major military attack against his regime.

Kim had told her he was sending medical aid into North Korea and going in and out of Rason, aNorth Korean special economic zone bordering China, she said.

“But unless such determination is transferred into action, there will continue to be other nuclear tests that impede on the peace of the Korean Peninsula, and China is well aware of this”.

North Korea, the economy and reform were the main focuses of her speech, while Park also took time to criticise the National Assembly for idling.

Though, North Korea had declared last week that it went ahead with the testing of a powerful H-bombs, several experts and the United States have been doubting that as the size of the bomb blast was about the same as that of its previous atomic bomb test conducted in 2013.

If confirmed, Kim, who CNN said was 60 and formerly of Fairfax, Virginia, would be the second Western citizen known to be held in North Korea. By comparing North Korea’s released footage with a successful R-27 launch, it is quite apparent that the KN-11 footage suggests a partially successful launch at best (successful ejection followed by a botched ignition).