South Korea says working with US, Japan on ‘strong’ North Korea sanctions

Yesterday’s launch followed Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test last month, which drew worldwide condemnation and prompted China and the United States to open negotiations on new, tougher UN sanctions. He spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping a few days before the launch “about the need to really tighten the noose” on North Korea, agreeing to a verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, Obama said in an interview with CBS that aired Monday.

The North Korean satellite launched on Saturday is tumbling in orbit, making it unable to gather data or perform other functions.

There had been speculation the North might use a much larger rocket this time after having completed work on an extended 67-metre gantry tower capable of handling a launch vehicle twice the size of the earlier 30-metre Unha-3 rocket.

The United States, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia, Britain, Germany, France, the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation issued statements condemning the launch.

North Korea maintains that it launched a long-range rocket from its Sohae satellite launching facility on 7 February as part of its peaceful space programme, but critics contend that it was cover for a ballistic missile test.

After the test, the US and South Korea announced they had begun formal discussions about the possibility of deploying an advanced missile defence system to which China has objected, arguing it could undermine its strategic deterrent.

North Korea’s defiant launch of a space rocket last Sunday has dramatically altered the security situation in East Asia, according to experts, and could force China to veer toward a compromise on the US-proposed sanctions against its impoverished traditional ally.

Analysts have said that the technology required to launch a rocket is essentially identical to that needed to fire a long-range ballistic missile. “Moving ahead with the deployment of anti-missile systems in the region will further raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula”.

“That means considering a range of economic sanctions that would further isolate North Korea (DPRK)”, Earnest said.

From North Korea’s perspective, blowing up some of the evidence makes sense.

Beijing had previously challenged the rationale behind the embargoes proposed by the United States and its allies against North Korea, arguing more hard-line punitive measures against Pyongyang would only serve to aggravate an already taut situation.

But it would also send a message to Beijing that it should do more to rein in North Korea by using its influence.

Wary of creating a refugee crisis should Kim’s regime collapse, China has been unwilling to implement sanctions that would really put a choke on North Korea’s economy.

The first propellant stage and fairing fell in the expected areas, where North Korea had previously notified global organizations, at 9:32 a.m., two minutes after Sunday’s launch.

But beyond the strategic logic lies a diplomatic imperative, which suggests an eventual Thaad deployment may be less motivated by what North Korea is doing and more by what China is not doing.

According to Joel Wit, a senior fellow at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the founder of its North Korea website, 38North, frustration with China’s stance has driven forward the possibility of deploying Thaad in South Korea.