Kim Jong-un Calls for More ‘Miraculous’ Nuke Development

The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday strongly condemned North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launches and threatened “further significant measures” if it refuses to stop its nuclear and missile tests.

On Monday, North Korea fired three Rodong-type midrange missiles off its east coast, drawing swift condemnation from the USA and other world leaders. However, since the new restrictions were imposed in March, North Korea has conducted 20 tests of short and medium range missiles, including submarine-based launches, advancing its capability to reach the USA mainland with a nuclear strike.

Rhodes accompanied Obama to the Laotian capital where a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) meetings were taking place, following Pyongyang’s latest intermediate-range ballistic missile launches toward waters controlled by Japan on Monday.

After meeting with South Korean President Park Geun Hye, Obama said the countries would work to increase the efficacy of the sanctions by closing loopholes.

The U.N.’s most powerful body agreed to the statement hours after a closed-door emergency meeting called by the United States, Japan and South Korea.

The United States on Tuesday called for action to enforce United Nations Security Council resolutions on North Korea prohibiting ballistic missile-related activities, a day after Pyongyang’s latest missile launches.

The UN Security Council promptly issued a unanimous condemnation, but as we hear from Neal Conan in the Pacific News Minute- the launch presents hard political and military problems.

Hahn said: “The fact that the North Korean regime is using considerable amounts of their national resources to the development of weapons of mass destruction will sacrifice the living conditions and basic need and humanitarian situation of North Korean people”.

Obama said he noted Xi’s objection to Thaad and that the U.S.is not looking for a diplomatic tussle over the missile shield. “They are explicit. They intend to arm the systems with nuclear weapons”. The program, being installed in South Korea, is a USA anti-ballistic missile system created to shoot down North Korean missiles.

Analysts pointed to North Korea’s defiant launch as a reflection of both USA and China’s diminished leverage over the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.

Speaking alongside Power, South Korean ambassador Hahn Choong-hee also called on the global community to send a message that if the North Koreans continue their behavior, “they will face much stronger and insurmountable and significant counter measures from the worldwide community”.

The North’s top newspaper Rodong Sinmun carried nine photos of the test, including one of a beaming Mr Kim standing in front of a map surrounded by smiling officials.

Kim described the August test as the “greatest success” and said it put the United States mainland within striking range.

Melissa Hanham, an expert on North Korea’s weapons programme at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, said it was hard to determine so far if there had been any technical progress.