US strikes on Syria ‘unforgivable act of aggression’, says North Korea

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the USA missile strikes against a Syrian air base in retaliation for a chemical weapon attack carries a message for any nation operating outside of worldwide norms.

North Korea lashed out at the USA missile strike on a Syrian air base, calling it an “absolutely unpardonable” act that only justifies its nuclear-weapons program.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has voiced support for the Syria airstrikes ordered by President Trump, spoke to the USA leader earlier on the telephone.

“We completely agreed that it’s very important for Japan and U.S.to cooperate and work together closely and the unity among Japan, U.S. and South Korea is important”, Abe told reporters, according to NHK.

However, the USA intelligence bureaus such as the Honolulu-based Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) have been keeping track of the whereabouts of the North Korea nuclear team beforehand.

From previous year, North Korea took the rare step of publicising images of its missile equipment tests, convincing analysts that Pyongyang’s banned programme was further along toward successfully testing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) than first thought.

North Korea considers Syria to be one of its few allies.

On Sunday, a North Korean Foreign Ministry official was quoted on state-run media as vowing to step up the country’s defenses to protect itself from airstrikes like the USA carried out against Syria last week.

North Korea probably has around 1,000 ballistic missiles of various types – a lot of them close copies of missiles obtained from its allies.

“If we push the button, the bombs will be fired and reduce the U.S.to ashes”, an editorial in the ruling Workers’ Party newspaper the Rodong Sinmun said on Wednesday.

North Korea has been trying to develop a long-range missile carrying a nuclear warhead that is capable of hitting the US mainland, a distance of about 8,000 kilometers.

North Korea launched a ballistic missile this week, just before the first summit meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jingping at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida resort. The North has long claimed that the U.S.is preparing some kind of assault against it and justifies its nuclear weapons as defensive in nature.

Although the option of pre-emptive military strikes on North Korea is not off the table, the review prioritises less risky steps and de-emphasises direct military action.

“Even George Bush, who was often treated mercilessly by the media as being so far out there, he came to Congress and asked to go to war against the Taliban and those who attacked us on 9/11”.

“We assess that they were relatively successful talks that laid the groundwork for cooperation between the two leaders and the development of the US-China relationship”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, referring to the talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

Brig. Gen. Park Chul-kyun, deputy director general for worldwide policy at the South Korean ministry; Andrew Winternitz, U.S. acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia; and Koji Kano, director for defense policy at Japan’s defense ministry joined the conference call.

Yoon said his side will try to outscore North Korea in the remaining matches.

Ideally, both Washington and Beijing would pledge aid to assist Seoul in the mammoth task of rebuilding the threadbare North Korean economy.