Obama, Xi coordinate response to NKorea provocations

Fuel trucks were spotted at North Korea’s main satellite centre, according to a USA think tank, however the group says it is unlikely Pyongyang has begun fuelling the rocket it plans to launch in the coming weeks.

It would follow the government’s announcement of a purported hydrogen bomb test last month that has deepened global concern over its progress toward having a nuclear bomb that can be mounted on a long-range missile.

The despot’s brutal regime said it had the ability to launch a nuclear warhead from a submarine thanks to advancements in its ballistic missile technology.

“Both leaders also conveyed that they will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapon state”, the White House said.

The communist country notified the International Maritime Organization and the International Telecommunication Union of its plan to launch an “Earth observation satellite” between February 8 and February 25, prompting neighboring countries to go on alert. It is not yet clear if a rocket is on the launch pad.

Despite Beijing’s annoyance with North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and its young maverick leader Kim Jong-un its priority has been to prevent chaos on China’s border.

Citing an unidentified US Defence Department official, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun said Friday that US satellite data suggested North Korea may have already begun fuelling the rocket in the face of wide-spread global condemnation.

“In the past, such activity has occurred one to two weeks prior to a launch event and would be consistent with North Korea’s announced launch window”, the group said.

South Korean and USA officials said a launch would threaten regional security and violate UN Security Council resolutions that ban the North from engaging in any nuclear and ballistic activities.

Today’s statement appears to point to a broad consensus between Obama and Xi on the need to act, but it is unclear if that can be translated into agreement on specific actions.

“We will, as we always do, watch carefully if there’s a launch, track the launch, (and) have our missile defense assets positioned and ready”, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Thursday.

It was from Sohae that North Korea blasted a rocket into space for the first time in 2012, mounted with a satellite that experts say malfunctioned soon after it entered orbit.