North Korea Did It Again!
North Korea is under fire again for its deliberate test of a hydrogen bomb that prompted a barrage of responses from the international community especially its adversaries – South Korea and the United States of America.
US President Donald Trump was straightforward in his first response after hearing about the news about the latest move from the communist country. Trump tweeted, “North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States.”
Later Sunday, as he was leaving St. John’s Episcopal Church, the president was asked whether he has plans to attack North Korea.
His response: “We’ll see.”
Trump followed that with a tweet saying he would be meeting with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and military officials about the matter, to discuss North Korea.
North Korea said it successfully conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb Sunday. The test created a magnitude-6.3 tremor, making it the most powerful weapon Pyongyang has ever tested. This is the sixth time that North Korea has conducted a nuclear test.
South Korea’s Response
It was not only the United States that strongly denounced North Korea’s action on its recent provocative activity. South Korea, a long-time adversary of the regime, was triggered to retaliate. In an angry response, South Korea conducted a live-fire exercise targeting the North’s nuclear test site that included surface-to-surface and long-range air-to-ground missiles.
Reports say the military exercise involved F-15 fighter jets and the country’s land-based “Hyunmoo” ballistic missiles firing into the Sea of Japan.
The target was set at the same distance as the North’s test site and the drill was for practicing precision strikes and cutting off reinforcements.
UN Response
The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Authority, condemned the latest nuclear test, saying that the regime has become a “global threat.”
Yukiya Amano, director general the International Atomic Energy Authority, said,” I think the North Korean threat is a global one now. In the past people believed it was a regional one, that’s no longer the case.”
Mr Amano added, “It is a global threat now and it combines nuclear weapons and missiles.”
Knowing the urgency to solve the matter of North Korea, the UN Security Council has scheduled its second emergency meeting in a week.
The underground explosion is likely to ratchet up already high tensions between the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, and President Donald Trump.
US On Denuclearizing North Korea
The United States remains committed to a denuclearized North Korea that respects the rights of its citizens.
In June 2009, the United Nations unanimously adopted resolution 1874, imposing stricter sanctions on the recalcitrant regime.
That resolution has 34 points, the first of which “Condemns in the strongest terms the nuclear test conducted by the DPRK on 25 May 2009 (local time) in violation and flagrant disregard of its relevant resolutions, in particular resolutions 1695 (2006) and 1718 (2006), and the statement of its President of 13 April 2009 (S/PRST/2009/7).”
Since the adoption of Resolution 1874, many countries have intercepted and seized tons of contraband cargo, including a massive arms shipment uncovered by Thailand in December. These interdictions show that some countries are taking seriously their obligations to enforce tough measures. The United States says it will continue to press on sanctions implementation until there is concrete, verifiable progress on denuclearization.
