Seoul’s defense chief confirms THAAD radar detected N. Korea’s missile launch

“The most important thing is to share views and enhance mutual understanding on the South Korea-US alliance and resolving the North Korea nuclear issue”, Hong told reporters before leaving for Washington. In launching a missile test on Sunday, by some estimates its most powerful yet, North Korea reminded the world that its nuclear and military ambitions remain unbroken.

“North Korea was always a state criminal, sheltered behind sovereignty, and now they’ve moved this into cyberspace”, said James A. Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. These days, China can no longer restrain Pyongyang from causing troubles on its doorstep, unlike what Beijing could do before.

The launch was the latest defiance of United Nations sanctions and provides an early challenge for South Korea’s new leader, Moon Jae-In, who has vowed to engage with the regime to bring peace to the peninsula.

Speaking at a meeting of the National Assembly’s defense committee on Tuesday, Han Min-koo stressed the importance of the USA missile defense system. France and Britain on Monday both publicly supported tougher sanctions.

“That is North Korea as it is”. Opposing the North’s test, China’s Foreign Ministry called on all sides to exercise restraint.

The U.S. and China were negotiating a resolution that would implement new sanctions and tighten existing penalties on Pyongyang, diplomats said. “Ninety percent of the DPRK’s trade is with China, so clearly there is a lot more leverage that China has, and we would like China to use”.

“There’s a lot of sanctions left that we can start to do, whether it’s with oil, whether it’s with energy, whether it’s with their maritime ships, exports”, US Ambassador Nikki Haley told ABC television’s “This Week”.

“Together with the worldwide community, we will hold the Kim Jong-un regime accountable for its risky and reckless actions and serious human rights abuses through a robust global campaign to cut the DPRK off from the rest of the world through diplomatic, security, and economic measures”. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, which was ordered to the region last month, is still in the Sea of Japan, where the missile landed Sunday.

A South Korean guard (R) reports on his North Korean counterpart at the Demilitarized Zone in Panmunjom, 29 March 2002.

Many government and LDP policymakers are also calling for the introduction of Tomahawk cruise missiles in order to be able to hit enemy bases.

North Korea has carried out two atomic tests and dozens of missile launches since the beginning of past year in its quest to develop a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental United States. It could have a range of 4,500 kilometers (about 2,800 miles), putting the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam easily within range. “The Chinese public has no interest in the complexities of missile defence systems”. The statement condemned the missile launch and said the Council would monitor the situation and impose significant new sanctions. British ambassador Matthew Rycroft backed the effort.

North Korea’s nuclear and missile technology development has been met with condemnation from the worldwide community, not least from neighboring countries.