The UN Security Council has said “significant measures” will be taken against North Korea after the secretive state defied sanctions and performed a nuclear test explosion. In an emergency meeting on Friday night, members condemned the “brazen defiance” of Pyongyang – with US ambassador Samantha Power calling on the council to use “every tool at its disposal” to show Kim Jong-un there are consequences for his country’s actions. The non-military actions taken by the UN Security Council will depend on China, a major ally to Pyongyang which fears any instability on the Korean peninsula.
It is unclear how effective further sanctions would be in curbing Kim Jong-un’s nuclear ambitions.
:: What ‘Serious Consequences’ Does North Korea Face?1
North Korea has been under UN sanctions since 2006 – and the impoverished country has continued to speed up the development of its nuclear and missile programmes even though fresh sanctions were enforced in March after months of negotiations, mainly between the US and China. Professor Tadashi Kimiya, who specialises in Korean issues, told Reuters: “Sanctions have already been imposed on almost everything possible, so the policy is at an impasse.
“In reality, the means by which the United States, South Korea and Japan can put pressure on North Korea have reached their limits.”
Pyongyang perceives neighbouring South Korea and the US as its main enemies, and said its Friday’s test – which caused a 5.0-magnitude seismic event – proved its scientists were capable of mounting a nuclear warhead on a medium-range ballistic missile.
:: Why Time Is Running Out To Stop ‘Paranoid’ Kim Jong-Un2
Initial estimates suggest the nuclear detonation, the country’s fifth, was its most destructive yet – with an explosive power that was the equivalent of between 10,000 and 30,000 tonnes of TNT. That could make the blast larger than the bomb dropped by the US on Hiroshima in World War Two.
The Pentagon is going to deploy a US Air Force plane to the region to collect air particles and debris in the atmosphere in an attempt to confirm the exact nature of North Korea’s test. At a meeting of top security officials, South Korean President Park Geun-hye said: “We have to believe that Kim Jong-un’s mental state is spiralling out of control because he is not listening to any words from the international community or neighbouring countries in his attempt to cling to power.”
State television in North Korea said the successful test meant the country could produce “a variety of smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear warheads of higher strike power at will”. On the streets of its capital city, residents seemed delighted at the outcome, with one saying: “It’s really great news.
Now I am full of confidence that if the enemies make any little provocations we will make a counter attack and we will surely win.”
Although the US has said it is open to diplomatic talks on the denuclearisation of North Korea, the last negotiations in 2008 collapsed.
References
- ^ :: What ‘Serious Consequences’ Does North Korea Face? (news.sky.com)
- ^ :: Why Time Is Running Out To Stop ‘Paranoid’ Kim Jong-Un (Why%20Time%20Is%20Running%20Out%20To%20Stop%20Paranoid%20Kim%20Jong-Un)