NORTH KOREA test-launched two more short-range missiles yesterday, just one day after detonating a nuclear bomb underground, pushing the regime’s confrontation with world powers to new extremes despite the threat of UN Security Council action.
Fearful for its security after the detonation of atomic weapons more powerful than the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the second World War, neighbouring South Korea said it would join a US-led initiative to intercept ships suspected of spreading weapons of mass destruction.
Pyongyang warned its southern neighbours that such a move was tantamount to a declaration of war, and the North Koreans accused the US of plotting against its government.
“The current US administration is following in the footsteps of the previous Bush administration’s reckless policy of militarily stifling North Korea,” the North’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
Two more missiles – one ground-to-air, the other ground-to-ship – with a range of about 130km were test-fired from an east coast launch pad, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, and security sources in Seoul believe North Korea could also launch more short-range missiles today, perhaps toward a disputed sea border with the South.
Monday’s nuclear test, the North’s second after one in 2006, drew strong international criticism, with US president Barack Obama calling Pyongyang’s nuclear arms programme a threat to international security, and other regional powers condemning the launch, including North Korea’s ally China.
The UN Security Council unanimously condemned the nuclear test and is drafting a new resolution. Pyongyang had previously warned it would test the bomb unless the head of the council apologised for condemning its missile launch in April.
There was particular concern in Japan, the only country to have experienced a nuclear attack and whose citizens have been kidnapped by North Korea and are in the direct firing line of any attacks.
The lower house of parliament quickly passed a unanimous resolution condemning the test and demanded North Korea give up its nuclear programme.
South Korean disarmament ambassador Im Han-tauck told a UN conference on disarmament in Geneva that the North’s test was a serious threat to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and a “grave challenge” to international non-proliferation.
In China, the North’s underground blast appears to have strained relations with its traditional ally. Chinese troops fought on the North’s side during the 1950-53 Korean War and many believe food and fuel from China keeps Kim Jong-il’s regime going.
The world will now be watching to see if China uses its veto on the council to avoid imposing tougher sanctions against its neighbour, despite stronger language condemning the test.
“The sanctions have been really toothless – North Korea has been able to engage in this provocation with no real penalty in terms of its economic relationship with China,” said Marcus Noland at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.