North Korea's missile program is progressing faster than expected, South Korea's defence minister says, hours after the UN Security Council demanded the North halt all nuclear and ballistic missile tests and condemned Sunday's test-launch.
The reclusive North, which has defied all calls to rein in its weapons programs, even from its lone major ally, China, has been working on a missile, mounted with a nuclear warhead, capable of striking the US mainland.
US President Donald Trump's administration has called for an immediate halt to Pyongyang's provocations and has warned that the "era of strategic patience" with North Korea is over. US Disarmament Ambassador Robert Wood said on Tuesday China's leverage was key and that it could do more.
South Korean Defence Minister Han Min-koo told parliament Sunday's test-launch was "successful in flight".
"It is considered an IRBM (intermediate range ballistic missile) of enhanced calibre compared to Musudan missiles that have continually failed," he said, referring to a class of missile designed to travel up to 3000 to 4000km.
Asked if North Korea's missile program was developing faster than the South had expected, he said: "Yes."
The North's KCNA news agency said Sunday's launch tested its capability to carry a "large-size heavy nuclear warhead". Its ambassador to China said in Beijing on Monday it would continue such test launches "any time, any place".
The missile flew 787km on a trajectory reaching an altitude of 2111.5km, KCNA said.
Pyongyang has regularly threatened to destroy the United States, which it accuses of pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war by conducting recent military drills with South Korea and Japan.
Trump and new South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet in Washington next month, with North Korea expected to be high on the agenda, the South's presidential Blue House said.
In a unanimously agreed statement, the 15-member UN Security Council said it was of vital importance that North Korea show "sincere commitment to denuclearisation through concrete action and stressed the importance of working to reduce tensions".
"To that end, the Security Council demanded the Democratic People's Republic of Korea conduct no further nuclear and ballistic missile tests," the council said, adding that it was ready to impose further sanctions on the country.
The statement also condemned an April 28 ballistic missile launch by Pyongyang.
Following that launch, Washington began talks with China on possible new UN sanctions.
The United States sees China as key, US Disarmament Ambassador Wood told reporters on a conference call.
"I'm not going to talk about various policy options that we may or may not consider, but I will say this: we are certainly engaged right now in looking at a number of measures - political, economic, security - to deal with these provocative acts by the DPRK (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea), and dangerous acts in many cases," he said.
"So we are going to be raising the level of engagement with China on this issue. China really is the key in dealing with the North Korea issue. Ninety per cent 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."
Share
