The US is seeking a range of new UN sanctions against North Korea, including an oil ban and a freeze on leader Kim Jong-un’s assets.
The draft resolution circulated to the Security Council members comes after Pyongyang’s sixth nuclear test and repeated missile launches.
North Korea also claims to have developed a hydrogen bomb and continues to threaten to strike the US.
China and Russia are both expected to oppose further sanctions.
Pyongyangis already under highly restrictive sanctions imposed by the UN that are intended to force the leadership to curtail its weapons programs.
In August, a new round of sanctions banned exports including coal, costing North Korea an estimated $1 billion – about a third of its entire export economy.
However, some trade avenues remain open to it.
The draft US proposal calls for a total ban on supplying a range of oil products to North Korea and a ban on its textile export industry.
It also suggests freezing the assets of Kim Jong-un and the North Korean government, as well as banning him and other senior officials from travelling.
North Korean laborers would also be banned from working abroad, principally in Russia’s Far East and China.
Remittances from foreign earnings and textile exports are two of the most important remaining sources of income for North Korea.
However, it is not clear how China and Russia, which both supply oil to North Korea and wield vetoes at the Security Council, will respond to the US move.
On September 7, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi told reporters that the council should respond further “by taking necessary measures”, but did not elaborate.
Wang Yi added that “sanctions and pressure are only half of the key to resolving the issue. The other half is dialogue and negotiation.”
China is both North Korea’s and the US’s biggest trade partner, and has supported recent sanctions against it.
President Vladimir Putin has argued that the amount of oil Russia exports to North Korea – some 40,000 tonnes – is negligible.
“It is not worth giving in to emotions and driving North Korea into a corner,” President Putin said.
Both China and Russia have been pushing for an alternative solution.
They are proposing that the US and ally South Korea stop their military drills – which anger the North – and end the deployment of the controversial anti-missile THAAD system in South Korea, in return for North Korea ceasing its nuclear and missile program.
The proposal has been rejected by the US and South Korea.
On September 7, South Korea’s military announced it had completed the deployment of THAAD, Yonhap reported.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in also met with Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe, where both agreed to push for greater sanctions. Shinzo Abe called for “the greatest possible pressure” to be put on North Korea.
President Donald Trump had previously warned the US could cut off trade with countries that do business with North Korea.
The US has indicated that if the resolution is not passed when the Security Council meets on September 11 it may impose its own sanctions unilaterally.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told reporters on September 6: “We believe that we need to economically cut off North Korea.
“I have an executive order prepared. It’s ready to go to the president. It will authorize me to… put sanctions on anybody that does trade with North Korea.”
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping also discussed North Korea over the phone on Wednesday, where they agreed to “take further action”, said a White House statement.
Donald Trump, who has previously threatened a military response to North Korea, told reporters this was “not our first choice”, but did not rule it out.
He added: “President Xi would like to do something. We’ll see whether or not he can do it. But we will not be putting up with what’s happening in North Korea.”
Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that President Xi called for a “peaceful settlement of the issue” involving “dialogue combined with a set of comprehensive measures”.
North Korea claims that it has successfully tested a nuclear weapon that could be loaded onto a long-range missile.
Pyongyang said its sixth nuclear test was a “perfect success”, hours after seismologists had detected an earth tremor.
North Korea said it had tested a hydrogen bomb – a device many times more powerful than an atomic bomb.
Analysts say the claims should be treated with caution, but its nuclear capability is clearly advancing.
Pyonyang last carried out a nuclear test in September 2016. It has defied UN sanctions and international pressure to develop nuclear weapons and to test missiles which could potentially reach the mainland US.
According to South Korean officials, the latest test took place in Kilju County, where North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site is situated.
The “artificial quake” was 9.8 times more powerful than the tremor from North Korea’s fifth test, the state weather agency said.
It came hours after Pyongyang said it had miniaturized a hydrogen bomb for use on a long-range missile, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was pictured with what state media said was a new type of hydrogen bomb. State media said the device could be loaded on to a ballistic missile.
Initial reports from the US Geological Survey put the tremor at 5.6-magnitude with a depth of 6 miles but this was later upgraded to 6.3-magnitude at 0 miles. This would make it North Korea’s most powerful nuclear test to date.
Japan condemned the test and South Korean President Moon Jae-in convened emergency security council talks.
A series of recent missile tests has caused growing international unease.
In a report on September 3, North Korea’s state news agency KCNA said Kim Jong-un had visited scientists at the nuclear weapons institute and “guided the work for nuclear weaponization”.
The report said: “The institute recently succeeded in making a more developed nuke.”
“He (Kim Jong-un) watched an H-bomb to be loaded into a new ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile),” it added.
The report carried pictures of Kim Jong-un inspecting the device. It described the weapon as “a multi-functional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated even at high altitudes”.
International experts say North Korea has made advances in its nuclear weapons capabilities but it is unclear if it has successfully miniaturized a nuclear weapon it can load on to a missile.
North Korea has previously claimed to have miniaturized a nuclear weapon but experts have cast doubt on this. There is also skepticism about North Korea’s claims to have developed a hydrogen bomb, which is more powerful than an atomic bomb.
Hydrogen bombs use fusion – the merging of atoms – to unleash huge amounts of energy, whereas atomic bombs use nuclear fission, or the splitting of atoms.
North Korea has fired a missile over northern Japan.
Japanese PM Shinzo Abe called the move an “unprecedented” threat to his country.
The missile, launched early on August 29, flew over Hokkaido Island before crashing into the sea.
The UN Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting in response.
North Korea has conducted a flurry of missile tests recently, but this is the first time it has fired what is thought to be a ballistic weapon over Japan.
On the two previous occasions its rockets crossed Japan – in 1998 and 2009 – North Korea said they were for satellite launch vehicles, not weapons.
According to the South Korean military, the missile was fired eastward just before 06:00 local time from near Pyongyang – which is rare.
Early analysis of the launch suggests the missile flew a distance of more than 1,680 miles and reached a maximum altitude of about 342 miles, lower than most previous North Korean tests. The missile was likely a Hwasong-12, a newly developed intermediate range weapon, and fell into the North Pacific Ocean 740 miles off the Japanese coast after breaking into three pieces.
No effort was made by the Japanese to shoot down the missile but it issued a safety warning telling citizens in Hokkaido to take shelter in “a sturdy building or basement”.
US and Japanese forces are currently taking part in training drills in Hokkaido.
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in ordered a show of “overwhelming” force in response to the launch. Four South Korean jets staged a live bombing drill on August 29.
Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe said he had spoken to President Donald Trump and that both agreed to increase pressure on North Korea.
Shinzo Abe said the North Korea’s “reckless action is an unprecedented, serious and a grave threat to our nation” which also “greatly damages regional peace and security”.
The prime minister said his government was doing its utmost to protect people’s lives.
North Korea’s conventional and nuclear weapons programs are a breach of international sanctions, so the test is being seen as a major provocation and an escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Earlier this month, North Korea threatened to fire missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam, while President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang would face “fire and fury” if it continued to threaten the US.
There have also been some reports in recent months that North Korea is preparing to carry out its sixth nuclear test.
However, last week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the fact that North Korea had not carried out any missile launches since the UN imposed a fresh round of sanctions was an indication of restraint by Pyongyang.
North Korean missile tests often come in response to South Korean military exercises involving the US.
Thousands of US and South Korean troops are currently taking part in joint military drills, which are mainly largely computer-simulated exercises.
The projectiles were launched at 06:49 on August 26, South Korea’s defense ministry said.
The US military initially reported that two of the missiles had failed but, according to its later assessment, one appears to have blown up almost immediately while two flew about 155 miles in a north-easterly direction.
The launches were spread over a period of 30 minutes, an official said.
The South Korean defense ministry said: “The military is keeping a tight surveillance over the North to cope with further provocations.”
The US has hit a dozen Russian and Chinese companies and individuals with sanctions over helping North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
The move comes after the UN Security Council, including Russia and China, voted for further sanctions against North Korea.
The US Treasury said its actions would “increase pressure” on North Korea, but the move has angered China.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson praised North Korea for “a level of restraint” in recent days.
He said: “We have had no missile launches or provocative acts on the part of North Korea since the unanimous adoption of the UN Security Council resolution.”
This, Rex Tillerson said, could pave the way for talks between the two sides “sometime in the near future”.
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control designated 10 companies and six individuals in its sanctions.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: “[The] Treasury will continue to increase pressure on North Korea by targeting those who support the advancement of nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and isolating them from the American financial system.”
The action means American individuals and companies are no longer permitted to do business with these companies.
China responded swiftly, calling on the US to “immediately correct its mistake” of punishing its companies.
A series of missile tests by North Korea in recent months – along with its repeated threats to carry out a sixth test of a nuclear device – have increased tensions between Pyongyang and the US.
North Korea has been angered, as it is every year, by scheduled US-South Korea military drills, and threatened to launch missiles near the US island of Guam in the South Pacific.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, threatened the isolated regime with “fire and fury like the world has never seen”.
In North Korea’s latest propaganda video, released on August 22, an image of President Trump is shown at a cemetery which is apparently meant to be in Guam.
Vice-president Mike Pence is also pictured engulfed in flames.
Rex Tillerson’s comments on August 22 appeared to strike a more conciliatory tone.
The secretary of state said North Korea had not launched any missiles since the UN unilaterally imposed new sanctions, and had “demonstrated some level of restraint that we’ve not seen in the past”.
“We hope that this is the beginning of this signal that we’ve been looking for – that they are ready to restrain their level of tensions, they’re ready to restrain their provocative acts and that perhaps we are seeing our pathway to sometime in the near future having some dialogue,” he said.
However, speaking at UN-backed disarmament conference in Geneva on August 22, a North Korean diplomat insisted that the weapons program was “justifiable and a legitimate option for self-defense”.
He said: “As long as the U.S. hostile policy and nuclear threat remains unchallenged, the DPRK will never place its self-defensive nuclear deterrence on the negotiating table or step back an inch from the path it took to bolster the national nuclear force.”
According to General Joseph Dunford, the top military adviser to President Donald Trump, a military response to North Korea would be “horrific” but remains an option.
The US Joint Chiefs of Staff made the comments while visiting China.
Gen. Joseph Dunford was responding to remarks by a top Trump aide ruling out military action over North Korea’s nuclear program.
Tensions have flared between the US and North Korea after Pyongyang made advances in its missile testing.
President Trump has warned North Korea that it faces “fire and fury”, while Pyongyang has threatened to strike the American territory of Guam.
However, the sharp rhetoric of last week has since softened, with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un putting the Guam plans on hold – a move praised by President Trump.
On August 16, White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon said there could be no military solution to the stand-off.
He told The American Prospect: “Until somebody solves the part of the equation that shows me that 10 million people in Seoul don’t die in the first 30 minutes from conventional weapons, I don’t know what you’re talking about, there’s no military solution here, they got us.”
Gen. Dunford agreed a military solution would be “horrific” but went on to say “what’s unimaginable to me is not a military option”.
“What is unimaginable is allowing [North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un] to develop ballistic missiles with a nuclear warhead that can threaten the United States and continue to threaten the region.”
He said President Trump “has told us to develop credible, viable military options, and that’s exactly what we’re doing”.
A senior Chinese military official who met Gen. Joseph Dunford told him that military action should be ruled out and that “dialogue” was the only option, the Chinese defense ministry said.
China is North Korea’s only major ally. The US has criticized China for not doing enough to rein it in, but Beijing says it has begun halting iron, iron ore and seafood imports from North Korea, in line with new UN sanctions.
According to North Korean state media, supreme leader Kim Jong-un reviewed plans to fire missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam but will hold off.
Although prepared for “the enveloping fire at Guam”, North Korea said it would watch what “the foolish Yankees” do before taking a decision.
Last week’s threat against Guam escalated the sharp rhetoric being exchanged between the two sides.
This latest report points to a pause in the increasingly bitter war of words.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has urged the US not to launch an attack on the Korean peninsula without its consent, saying “no one may decide to take military action without the consent” of the South.
The KCNA report said Kim Jong-un “examined the plan for a long time” and discussed it with senior military officials.
Kim Jong-un was now merely waiting for orders “after rounding off the preparations for the enveloping fire at Guam”.
However, crucially, the report also said that Kim Jong-un would watch the US before making any decision, signaling an apparent deceleration in the provocative rhetoric.
Correspondents say that after days of menacing threats it might seem that the North Korean leader could be in the mood to finally hit the pause button – but in a nation as secretive as North Korea, one can never be sure.
Analysts say it could simply mean North Korea is not fully ready to launch an attack on Guam, so it could just be buying more time.
South Korea and China – North Korea’s closest ally – have been urging calm and a renewed push for diplomatic resolutions.
On August 15, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the US should not act unilaterally. The two countries’ defense agreement states that they must “consult together” when either is threatened.
On August 14, China’s foreign ministry reiterated its “suspension for suspension proposal” where North Korea stops its missile tests in exchange for a freeze on military exercises by the US and South Korea.
Defense Secretary James Mattis earlier warned that any attack could quickly escalate into war, and if North Korea fired a missile towards Guam, “then it’s game on.”
He told reporters that the US military would defend the country “from any attack, at any time and from any quarter”.
James Mattis also sought to reassure residents of Guam, home to US military bases and about 160,000 people, that they were well-protected and if a missile was fired, “we’ll take it out”.
President Donald Trump has announced that the US military is “locked and loaded” to deal with North Korea, ramping up the rhetorical brinkmanship.
He tweeted: “Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong-un will find another path!”
President Trump spoke as North Korea accused him of “driving” the Korean peninsula to the “brink of a nuclear war”.
Pyongyang has announced plans to fire missiles near the US territory of Guam.
On August 11, Guam’s homeland security agency issued a fact sheet with tips for residents to prepare for any missile threat.
The sheet states: “Do not look at the flash or fireball – it can blind you.”
“Lie flat on the ground and cover your head. If the explosion is some distance away, it could take 30 seconds or more for the blast wave to hit.”
Russia said the exchange of threats between the US and North Korea “worry us very much”.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rated the risk of military conflict as “very high” as he put forward a joint Russian-Chinese plan to defuse the crisis.
President Trump’s tweet follows his threat earlier this week to rain “fire and fury” on Pyongyang.
His latest post came hours after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis attempted to cool tensions by emphasizing a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
Speaking in California late on August 10, the Pentagon chief said it was his job to be ready for conflict.
However, he said the effort by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley “has diplomatic traction, it is gaining diplomatic results”.
Jim Mattis added: “The tragedy of war is well enough known. It doesn’t need another characterization beyond the fact that it would be catastrophic.”
When asked about US military plans for a potential conflict, Jim Mattis said the country was ready, but he would not “tell the enemy in advance what I’m going to do”.
Also on August 11, North Korea’s official KCNA news agency accused the US of a “criminal attempt to impose nuclear disaster upon the Korean nation”.
North Korea’s media outlet said America was making “desperate efforts” to test weapons in the Korean peninsula.
Washington is “the mastermind of nuclear threat, the heinous nuclear war fanatic”, the report said.
Tensions have escalated since North Korea tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July.
The regime was further angered by last week’s UN decision to increase economic sanctions against it.
North Korea has said it will within days finalize a plan to fire medium-to-long-range rockets towards Guam, where US strategic bombers are based, along with more than 160,000 US citizens.
There has been no indication that any actual attack on the Pacific island is imminent.
On August 10, President Trump suggested that his own statements on North Korea had not been tough enough, warning the regime to be “very, very nervous”.
However, the president added that the US would always consider negotiations.
Donald Trump also chided North Korea’s closest ally, China, saying it could do “a lot more”.
China’s state-run Global Times newspaper wrote that Beijing should stay neutral if North Korea launches an attack that threatens the US.
However, it also said that if the US and South Korea attacked North Korea to force regime change, then China must intervene to prevent it.
North Korea claims that a plan that could see it fire four missiles near the US territory of Guam will be ready in a matter of days.
According to state media, Hwasong-12 rockets would pass over Japan and land in the sea about 17 miles from Guam, if the plan was approved by Kim Jong-un.
North Korea denounced President Donald Trump’s warnings of “fire and fury” and said the US leader was “bereft of reason”.
The US has warned North Korea its actions could mean the “end of its regime”.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Pyongyang would be “grossly overmatched” in any war against the US and its allies.
North Korea first announced on August 9 that it had been drawing up plans for a missile strike against Guam, a Pacific island which is home to US military bases, strategic bombers and about 163,000 people.
A later statement carried by state media said the North Korean military would “finally complete the plan” by mid-August and send it to leader Kim Jong-un for his approval.
“The Hwasong-12 rockets to be launched by the KPA [Korean People’s Army] will cross the sky above Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi [Kochi] Prefectures of Japan,” state news agency KCNA said, quoting army chief General Kim Rak Gyom.
“They will fly 3,356.7km for 1,065 seconds and hit the waters 30-40km away from Guam.”
The Hwasong missiles are North Korea’s domestically produced medium and long-range weapons.
The governor of Guam addressed North Korea’s new statement on August 10, telling Reuters that Pyongyang usually likes to be unpredictable and has fired surprise missiles in the past.
“They’re now telegraphing their punch, which means they don’t want to have any misunderstandings. I think that’s a position of fear,” said Governor Eddie Calvo.
President Trump boasted about America’s atomic arsenal earlier on August 9.
Tweeting from New Jersey where he is on holiday, President Trump said the US nuclear stockpile was “more powerful than ever before”.
North Korea has reacted after the US drafted the UN sanctions over its banned nuclear weapons program.
Pyongyang vowed to retaliate and make “the US pay a price”.
The sanctions, which were unanimously passed by the UN on August 5, were a “violent violation of our sovereignty,” the official KCNA news agency said.
Separately, South Korea says North Korea has rejected an offer to restart talks, dismissing it as insincere.
The sanctions will aim to reduce North Korea’s export revenues by a third.
The UN Security Council decision followed repeated missile tests by North Korea which have escalated tensions on the peninsula.
In its first major response on August 7, North Korea insisted that it would continue to develop its controversial nuclear weapons program.
The state-run KCNA news agency said North Korea would “not put our self-defensive nuclear deterrent on the negotiating table” while it faces threats from the US.
Pyongyang threatened to make the US “pay the price for its crime… thousands of times,” referring to America’s role in drafting the UN sanctions resolution.
Speaking to reporters at a regional forum in the Philippine capital, Manila, North Korean spokesman Bang Kwang Hyuk said: “The worsening situation on the Korean peninsula, as well as the nuclear issues, were caused by the United States.
“We affirm that we’ll never place our nuclear and ballistic missiles program on the negotiating table, and won’t budge an inch on strengthening nuclear armament.”
The remarks come after reports emerged that the North and South Korean foreign ministers had met briefly on August 6 on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila.
South Korean media reported that its Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha shook hands with her North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong Ho, in a brief and unarranged meeting at an official dinner event.
South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Kang Kyung-wha as saying that Ri Yong Ho’s rejection of the talks proposal appeared to be connected to the new sanctions.
“I told him that [the two offers for talks] are an urgent matter that should be carried out immediately with any political agenda put aside and asked him to proactively react,” she was quoted as saying.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told journalists on August 7: “My feeling is that the North did not entirely reject the positive proposals raised by the South.”
Wang Yi added that China also supported South Korea’s initiatives, and was “100%” committed to enforcing the latest round of UN sanctions.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is also at the ASEAN forum, where he spoke about North Korea.
Noting Russia and China’s participation in the unanimous vote, Rex Tillerson told journalists it was clear there was now “no daylight among the international community” on their desire for North Korea to stop its tests.
“The best signal that North Korea can give us [is] that they are prepared to talk would be to stop these missile launches,” he added.
Russia and China have previously differed with others on how to handle Pyongyang, but in recent months have joined calls for North Korea to stop its missile tests – while also urging the US and South Korea to halt military drills, and withdraw an anti-missile system from the South.
President Trump is due to meet with other world leaders at the G20 summit in Germany on July 7.
His comments follow those of US ambassador Nikki Haley, who told the UN Security Council that the US was willing to use its “considerable military forces” on North Korea “if we must”.
The US and South Korea have already stepped up military drills, firing missiles into the Sea of Japan in an apparent show of strength.
North Korea, however, said it would not negotiate over its missile program unless the US ended its “hostile policy” against Pyongyang.
Unless the US stopped its “hostile policy”, North Korea would “never put the nuke and ballistic rocket on the negotiating table”.
Due to the secretive nature of all of North Korea’s military activity, it is hard for experts to assess how close the country is to building a reliable ICBM.
On June 21, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged China to use more diplomatic pressure on North Korea “if they want to prevent further escalation in the region”.
China is seen as North Korea’s main ally and the US hopes Beijing can have greater influence on the totalitarian state to stop both its missile tests and nuclear program.
President Donald Trump has said he would like to solve the North Korea crisis diplomatically, but has previously warned that a “major, major conflict” is possible.
Tensions spiked once again last week when American student Otto Warmbier, who was serving a hard labor sentence in North Korea for stealing a propaganda sign, died shortly after returning home in a coma.
The US has also ramped up its military presence in the region, conducting drills with Japan as well as South Korea, and is installing a controversial missile defense system in South Korea, known as Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD).
However, South Korea recently said it was suspending the further deployment of the system until an environmental assessment was completed.
Experts fear the tests indicate progress towards North Korea’s ultimate goal of putting a nuclear warhead on a missile.
The latest firing, however, does not violate the UN Security Council’s resolutions against the North, as those resolutions only ban ballistic missile launches, reported South Korean news agency Yonhap.
South Korean military spokesman Roh Jae-cheon said the latest launch showed the North “likely wanted to show off its ability to precisely target a large warship” after recent military drills involving US aircraft carriers and South Korean troops.
“By testing different types of missiles, North Korea also appears to be aiming to secure the upper hand in relations with South Korea and the United States,” Roh Jae-cheon told reporters.
Anti-ship cruise missiles are guided missiles which generally skim the water. In 2012, North Korea displayed several such weapons known as Styx.
North Korea has also previously unsuccessfully tested anti-ship ballistic missiles, experts believe.
Last week the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a new resolution to impose targeted sanctions on certain North Korean officials and state entities.
The US has also ramped up its military presence in the region, conducting drills with Japan as well as South Korea, and is installing a controversial missile defense system in South Korea, known as Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD).
However, South Korea said on June 7 it was suspending the further deployment of the system until an environmental assessment is completed.
The UN has imposed new targeted sanctions against North Korea in response to a series of missile tests conducted by Pyongyang this year.
The measures impose a travel ban and asset freeze on four entities and 14 officials, including the head of North Korea’s overseas spying operations.
The UN Security Council voted unanimously to back the sanctions after weeks of negotiations between the US and China.
North Korea has defied a UN resolution banning all nuclear and missile tests.
The sanctions resolution was adopted by the 15-member council on June 2.
Among the 14 North Korean officials is Cho Il-u, who leads Pyongyang’s foreign espionage operations.
The other blacklisted officials are senior members of North Korea’s Workers’ Party and heads of trading companies funding Pyongyang’s military program.
North Korea’s strategic rocket force, the Koryo Bank and two trading companies were also added to the list.
The Koryo Bank is linked to a party office that manages finances of North Korea’s top officials, including leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea has been testing its missiles at an unprecedented pace. It says its nuclear program is defensive and intended to counter US aggression.
However, experts fear the tests indicate progress towards North Korea’s ultimate goal of putting a nuclear warhead on a missile that could strike the continental US.
President Donald Trump has warned North Korea that America’s “strategic patience” over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions came to an end.
It stressed the importance of North Korea “immediately showing sincere commitment to denuclearization through concrete action”.
The UN Security Council is now scheduled to meet behind closed doors on May 23 – a meeting requested by the US, South Korea and Japan.
South Korea’s foreign ministry earlier said the launch was “reckless and irresponsible”, while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described it as “disappointing” and “disturbing”.
The latest missile flew about 350 miles towards the Sea of Japan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Last week’s missile travelled about 435 miles.
Japanese news agencies said the missile probably fell into the sea outside Japan’s waters.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference a protest had been lodged with North Korea.
South Korea said the latest test was conducted in Pukchang, in the west of the country. A missile exploded soon after take-off from Pukchang last month.
Earlier on May 21, North Korea’s state-run media had said it would continue to launch more “weapons capable of striking” the US.
In early May, the US said a missile defense system it had installed in South Korea was now operational.
The THAAD system can intercept North Korean missiles, although full operational capability is still some months away. North Korea and its ally China have condemned the installation of the system.
However, there is no sign that THAAD was used against the missile tested on May 21.
Newly-installed South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is seeking deeper engagement with North Korea, has convened an urgent meeting of his national security council in response.
North Korea’s latest missile test has been unanimously condemned by the UN Security Council, while warning of new sanctions.
In a statement, the 15-member Council demanded that North Korea conduct no further such tests.
Pyongyang earlier said the missile it had tested on May 14 was a new type of rocket capable of carrying a large nuclear warhead.
The missile traveled some 435 miles, reaching an altitude of 1,250 miles and landing in the sea west of Japan.
North Korea said it was a test of the abilities of a “newly developed ballistic rocket”.
South Korea’s military said it could not yet verify North Korea’s claims.
However, it said Pyongyang’s missiles did appear to be able to leave and re-enter the atmosphere, which is crucial to developing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports.
In the statement on May 15, the UN Security Council stressed on the importance of North Korea “immediately showing sincere commitment to denuclearization through concrete action”.
North Korea should “conduct no further nuclear and ballistic missile tests”, it said.
The UN Security Council has imposed six sets of sanctions against North Korea since 2006.
North Korea’s KCNA state news agency said the test of a “newly developed mid/long-range strategic ballistic rocket, Hwasong-12” had gone to plan.
“The test-fire aimed at verifying the tactical and technological specifications of the newly developed ballistic rocket capable of carrying a large-size heavy nuclear warhead,” it said.
North Korea is known to be developing both nuclear weapons – it has conducted five nuclear tests – and the missiles capable of delivering those weapons to their target. Both are in defiance of UN sanctions.
However, it remains unclear whether it has the ability to make the weapons small enough to be mounted on a rocket, and it has never tested an ICBM which could reach, for example, the US.
ICBM’s are considered to have a range of about 3,750 miles, but analysts believe the missile tested on Sunday would have travelled about 2,500 miles if it had been fired at a standard trajectory rather than upwards.
The KCNA report said that, as ever, the test had been overseen by North Korea’s Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un.
It said Kim Jong-un had told the scientists and technicians involved “not to be complacent” but to build further “nuclear weapons and methods of delivery” until the US made “the right choice”.
South Korea’s military said it could not yet verify North Korea’s claims.
However it said North Korea’s missiles did appear to be able to leave and re-enter the atmosphere, which is crucial to developing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), the Yonhap news agency reported.
Repeated missile tests by North Korea this year – not all of them successful but all a breach of UN sanctions – have sparked international alarm and raised tensions with the US.
The US and Japan have called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on May 16.
North Korea’s KCNA state news agency said on May 15 that the test of a “newly developed mid/long-range strategic ballistic rocket, Hwasong-12” had gone to plan.
“The test-fire aimed at verifying the tactical and technological specifications of the newly developed ballistic rocket capable of carrying a large-size heavy nuclear warhead,” it said.
North Korea is known to be developing both nuclear weapons – it has conducted five nuclear tests – and the missiles capable of delivering those weapons to their target. Both are in defiance of UN sanctions.
However, it remains unclear whether it has the ability to make the weapons small enough to be mounted on a rocket, and it has never tested a long-range ICBM which could reach, for example, the US.
ICBM’s are considered to have a range of about 6,000km, but analysts believe the missile tested on May 14 would have travelled about 4,000km if it had been fired at a standard trajectory rather than upwards.
The KCNA report said that, as ever, the test had been overseen by North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.
It said Kim Jong-un had told the scientists and technicians involved “not to be complacent” but to build further “nuclear weapons and methods of delivery” until the US made “the right choice”.
In a statement on May 14, the White House said Pyongyang had been “a flagrant menace for far too long” and that this “latest provocation” should “serve as a call for all nations to implement far stronger sanctions”.
Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, said on May 14 that until Kim Jong-un meets the US conditions, “we’re not sitting down with him”.
South Korea’s newly elected President Moon Jae-in, who is seeking deeper engagement with North Korea, said it was a “reckless provocation”.
North Korea has carried out another ballistic missile test, just few days after Moon Jae-in took office in South Korea.
According to Japanese officials, the missile was launched from north-western Kusong.
South Korea’s newly elected President Moon Jae-in, who campaigned on a platform of better engagement with North Korea, said it was a provocation.
President Donald Trump has called for “stronger sanctions” against North Korea, while China is urging restraint.
A series of North Korean missile tests this year – which are banned by the UN – has sparked international alarm and raised tensions with the US.
Two missile launches last month both failed, with the rockets exploding just minutes into flight.
The nature of the launch is still being determined, but analysts have said the test could suggest a longer range than previously tested devices.
According to the Japanese defense minister, the missile flew for about 30 minutes before falling in the Sea of Japan and could be a new type of missile, Reuters reported.
Tomomi Inada said it covered a distance of 435 miles, reaching an altitude of more than 1,245 miles – higher than that reached by an intermediate-range missile North Korea fired in February.
The US Pacific Command said in a statement the type was being assessed but that its flight was not consistent with that of an intercontinental ballistic missile [ICBM], which would have the range to reach the US mainland.
After hosting an emergency meeting of his security council, South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in condemned the latest launch as a “provocation”.
“The president said while South Korea remains open to the possibility of dialogue with North Korea, it is only possible when the North shows a change in attitude,” his spokesman said.
The White House said President Donald Trump “cannot imagine Russia is pleased” because the missile did not land far from Russian territory.
It added that the new launch should serve as a call for stronger sanctions against North Korea.
A Kremlin spokesperson later said Russian President Vladimir Putin was concerned by the test.
China, North Korea’s only major ally, called for restraint by “all relevant parties” in the wake of the latest test.
North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests despite UN sanctions and is also developing long-range missiles.
He recently hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and praised him for “trying very hard” on North Korea.
The test came just hours after the UN Security Council had discussed North Korea’s missile program.
Speaking to reporters aboard his plane after a visit to Egypt, Pope Francis said: “There are so many facilitators in the world, there are mediators who offer themselves, such as Norway for example.”
In 2003 six-party talks – involving the two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia – were launched to address concerns over North Korea’s nuclear program. However, Pyongyang withdrew from the negotiations in 2009.
Tensions in the region have increased lately, with both North and South Korea conducting military exercises.
North Korea is believed to be continuing efforts to miniaturize nuclear warheads and fit them on long-range missiles capable of reaching the US.
It is not known what kind of missile was unsuccessfully launched on April 29. However, US officials told Reuters that it was probably a medium-range missile known as a KN-17.
According to South Korean and US military officials, North Korea has test-fired another ballistic missile.
The missile exploded shortly after take-off, they said – the second failed launch in the past fortnight.
President Donald Trump accused North Korea of showing “disrespect” towards China and its president.
The missile was fired in the early hours on April 29 from a site in South Pyeongan province, north of Pyongyang, South Korea said.
President Trump wrote on Twitter: “North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!”
He recently hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and praised his Chinese counterpart for “trying very hard” on North Korea.
The failed launch came just hours after the United Nations Security Council discussed North Korea’s missile programme.
Donald Trump‘s Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for a tougher international approach to the isolated communist state – but also signaled that the US might be prepared to negotiate with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Tensions in the region have increased lately, with both North and South Korea conducting military exercises.
North Korea is believed to be continuing efforts to miniaturize nuclear warheads and fit them on long-range missiles capable of reaching the US.
After April 29 failed launch, the Japanese government condemned the test and said it had lodged a strong protest with North Korea through its diplomatic channels.
“North Korea fired an unidentified missile from a site in the vicinity of Bukchang in Pyeongannam-do (South Pyeongan Province) early this morning,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC) said in a statement, Yonhap reports.
The statement added that the missile apparently exploded, just seconds after the launch.
Meanwhile, Commander Dave Benham, a spokesman for US Pacific Command, also said the launch occurred near the Bukchang airfield.
Dave Benham added that the missile did not leave North Korean territory.
US officials told Reuters that they believed the missile was a medium-range type known as KN-17.
Rex Tillerson warned of “catastrophic consequences” if the Council did not act, saying it was “likely only a matter of time before North Korea develops the capability to strike the US mainland”.
Rex Tillerson accused Council members of not fully enforcing existing sanctions against North Korea, and called on China in particular to leverage its trade links as influence.
However, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the key to solving the problem did not lie with his country.
UN sanctions include a ban on selling arms and fuel to North Korea, as well as a host of items that could be used for weapons-making.
Also on the list are luxury goods including pearl jewellery and snowmobiles worth $2,000 or more.
Since 2016, all cargo entering or leaving North Korea must also be inspected.
However, a recent UN study found that fragments from a North Korean missile test included electronics that had been obtained either from or via Chinese enterprises.
The US has separate, stricter sanctions including a blanket ban on trade and a blacklist of anyone dealing with North Korea.
Speaking to the UN Security Council, Rex Tillerson said the US would use diplomatic and financial measures against North Korea – including potential sanctions on companies or individuals with ties to North Korea – but would be willing to consider military action if necessary.
For years, he said, North Korea had dictated the terms of its dangerous course of action.
“It’s time for us to retake control of the situation,” he said.
“The threat of a North Korean nuclear attack on Seoul or Tokyo is real, and it is likely only a matter of time before North Korea develops the capability to strike the US mainland.”
The foreign minister of China, North Korea’s greatest ally, warned against military intervention.
“The use of force does not solve differences and will only lead to bigger disasters,” Wang Yi said.
“Peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula through dialogue and negotiations represents the only right choice that is practical and viable,” he added.
Wang Yi also repeated a Chinese offer to halt Pyongyang’s military program in return for a freeze on joint US-South Korea military drills.
The US has rejected the idea in the past, saying the nuclear program must be halted first.
Russia said use of force would be “completely unacceptable”. Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov also called on North Korea to end its nuclear and missile programs.
“The combative rhetoric coupled with reckless muscle-flexing has led to a situation where the whole world seriously is now wondering whether there’s going to be a war or not,” he told the Security Council.
“One ill-thought-out or misinterpreted step could lead to the most frightening and lamentable consequences.”
President Donald Trump’s strategy on North Korea is to tighten sanctions on the secretive country and step up diplomatic moves aimed at pressuring it to end its nuclear and missile programs.
The strategy was announced after a special briefing for all 100 US senators.
A joint statement issued by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said: “The United States seeks stability and the peaceful denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
“We remain open to negotiations towards that goal. However, we remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies.
“The president’s approach aims to pressure North Korea into dismantling its nuclear, ballistic missile, and proliferation programs by tightening economic sanctions and pursuing diplomatic measures with our allies and regional partners.”
The US already has extensive sanctions in place on North Korea, including a blanket ban on trade and a blacklist of anyone dealing with North Korea.
It is not clear what further sanctions the US could impose.
Democratic Senator Christopher Coons told reporters that military options were discussed at the special presidential briefing for senators.
“It was a sobering briefing in which it was clear just how much thought and planning was going into preparing military options if called for – and a diplomatic strategy that strikes me as clear-eyed and well-proportioned to the threat,” he said.
President Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, imposed sanctions over a year ago following a nuclear test and satellite launch by North Korea.
North Korean government property in America was frozen and US exports to, or investment in, North Korea was banned.
The order also greatly expanded powers to blacklist anyone, including non-Americans, dealing with North Korea.
The senators received a highly unusual briefing by the Trump administration on the seriousness of the threat from North Korea and Donald Trump’s strategy for dealing with it on April 26.
Earlier Admiral Harry Harris, head of US Pacific Command, said the US would be ready “with the best technology” to defeat any missile threat.
The deployment of Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea was aimed, he argued, at bringing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “to his senses, not to his knees”.
Admiral Harry Harris said he believed that North Korea would try to attack the US as soon as it had the military capabilities.
China says the deployment of THAAD will destabilize security and there have been protests in South Korea itself, where three people were injured in clashes with police as the system was being delivered to a former golf course on April 26.
Experts fear North Korea could be planning more tests – it has marked some key anniversaries in the past with nuclear tests or missile launches.
However, South Korea’s defense ministry said “no unusual development had been detected”.
Image source Wikimedia
Instead, Pyongyang conducted a large live-fire drill around the city of Wonsan, South Korea said.
“Our military is closely monitoring the North Korean military’s movement,” the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
North Korea conducted a failed ballistic missile test on April 16, prompting VP Mike Pence to warn it not to “test” President Donald Trump.
In an unusual move, the entire Senate has been asked to attend a briefing on North Korea on April 26 at the White House.
The USS Michigan docked at South Korea’s Busan port on April 25, in what it called a routine visit. It is a nuclear-powered submarine carrying 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles and 60 special operations troops and mini-subs, reported the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo.
The submarine is expected to take part in military exercises with the Carl Vinson warship group, which the US said it was dispatching to North Korea earlier this month to “maintain readiness” in the region.
At the time, President Trump said that he was sending an “armada” to the region and that the US had submarines which were “very powerful, far more powerful than the aircraft carrier”.
North Korea reacted angrily to the aircraft carrier deployment, threatening to sink it and launch a “super-mighty pre-emptive strike” against what it called US aggression.
However, the US warships caused some confusion and attracted mockery when it emerged that they actually sailed in the opposite direction, away from North Korea, after the announcement. However, US Navy officials said they are now proceeding to the region as ordered.
China is North Korea’s only ally and main trading partner – and the US has been urging Beijing to help put pressure on Pyongyang.
China’s President Xi Jinping spoke to President Donald Trump on April 24, urging all sides to “maintain restraint and avoid actions that would increase tensions”.
According to South Korean and US military officials say, North Korea has failed to launch a missile on its east coast, a day after Pyongyang warned the US amid rising tension in the region.
The US said a ballistic missile exploded within seconds of the launch.
Hours earlier, North Korea paraded what appeared to be long-range ballistic missiles at a major military display.
North Korea has already conducted five nuclear tests and a series of missile launches in contravention of UN resolutions.
The latest development comes as Vice-President Mike Pence heads to Seoul, where he is expected to discuss the best way to deal with North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs.
“North Korea attempted to test an unidentified type of missile from [its eastern port of] Sinpo,” the South Korean defense ministry said, adding that the launch on April 16 had “failed”.
The ministry said that it was investigating for further details.
The US Pacific Command later confirmed the failed test, adding that it had detected and tracked what it believed to be a North Korean ballistic missile.
“The missile blew up almost immediately,” said US Navy Commander Dave Benham, quoted by Reuters.
One unnamed US official said it was unlikely to have been an intercontinental missile, but investigations were continuing.
On April 15, North Korea marked the 105th anniversary of the birth of its founding president, Kim Il-sung, with a huge military parade in Pyongyang amid speculation that current leader Kim Jong-un could order a new nuclear test.
The event, which appeared to include new intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, was a deliberate show of strength.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “North Korea showing a variety of offensive missiles at yesterday’s military parade and daring to fire a ballistic missile today is a show of force that threatens the whole world.”
VP Mike Pence’s long-planned 10-day trip marks his first official visit to the region, where he is expected to reaffirm the US commitment to stand by its regional allies.
At the parade on April 15, North Korean military official Choe Ryong-hae, who is believed to be the country’s second most powerful official, said that his country was “prepared to respond to an all-out war with an all-out war”.
“We are ready to hit back with nuclear attacks of our own style against any nuclear attacks,” he said.
Earlier this month, North Korea test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile from Sinpo into the Sea of Japan.
The launch took place on the eve of a visit by China’s President Xi Jinping to the US to meet President Donald Trump. The two leaders later discussed how to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
North Korea is banned from any missile or nuclear tests by the UN, though it has repeatedly broken those sanctions.
North Korean military official Choe Ryong-Hae said: “We’re prepared to respond to an all-out war with an all-out war.”
He added: “We are ready to hit back with nuclear attacks of our own style against any nuclear attacks.”
Photo Reuters
North Korea staged an extravagant display of military strength at April 15 parade amid concern that mounting tensions in the region could lead to a conflict with the US.
Rows of military bands and columns of troops marched into Pyongyang’s main Kim Il-sung square in the heart of the city.
On display for the first time were what appeared to be submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), which could be developed to house nuclear warheads capable of reaching targets around the world.
With concerns that the state is getting closer to successfully producing a nuclear arsenal, the parade was an opportunity for Kim Jong-un to broadcast North Korea’s current military capabilities.
The event made clear how vital North Korea’s nuclear program is to its future ambitions as it continues to ignore growing pressure from the US to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests and a series of missile launches. Experts and government officials believe it is working to develop nuclear-warhead missiles that can reach the US.
On April, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that “conflict could break out at any moment”, adding that if war occurred there could be no winner.
China, North Korea’s only backer, fears conflict could cause the regime to collapse and problems on its border.
“We call on all parties to refrain from provoking and threatening each other, whether in words or actions, and not let the situation get to an irreversible and unmanageable stage,” Wang Yi said.
Adding to Chinese unease, President Donald Trump said on April 13 that “the problem of North Korea” would be “taken care of”.
“If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A.”
President Trump has recently demonstrated his willingness to resort to military methods. He ordered a cruise missile attack on Syria in retaliation for a suspected chemical weapons attack, and the US military just used a huge bomb against ISIS in Afghanistan.
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