Kim Jong-Un boasted of North Korea’s ability to strike any target in the US after a second ICBM test that weapons experts said could even bring New York into range - in a potent challenge to US President Donald Trump. / AFP PHOTO / KCNA VIS KNS / STR / –
North Korea’s vice foreign minister, Han Song-ryol, has met with his Philippine counterpart on July 25 ahead of ASEAN Regional Forum set in Manila this week, after Pyongyang sent diplomats early this year in Manila to appeal to the ASEAN chairman not to embarrass North Korea during the regional meeting, according to a Reuters report.
Two diplomats from the Philippines foreign ministry said the North Koreans were worried ASEAN may issue a strongly-worded statement about the situation on the Korean peninsula to pressure Pyongyang to abandon its planned missile tests, it said.
Foreign ministers of Japan, Russia, China, South Korea and the United States are due to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila.
North Korea also sent a letter to ASEAN’s secretary-general asking for help.
Philippines “cautious” in dealing with issue — DFA’s Cayetano
Philippines, the chair of ASEAN this year, said it will deal with North Korean issues cautiously after seeking consultations from its allies from Southeast Asia and East Asia.
“We are in fact cautious because we want to play a productive role in easing the tensions in Korean peninsula, we don’t want to be the one who will add to the tensions, so we have to talk to someone,” he said.
North Korea will likely justify its nuclear arm possession in an upcoming regional meeting, analysts say, with regional security expected to be high on the agenda at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila this week.
The second North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch last weekend drew a sharp warning from the United States which responded by flying two supersonic B-1B bombers over the Korean peninsula. It also resulted in a rebuke from its closest ally, China, as well as tougher sanctions imposed by Japan.
The latest test underscores the growing threat posed by the North’s nuclear and missile programs as it has shown Pyongyang now may be able to reach most of the continental United States, two U.S. officials told Reuters.
The Hwasong-14, named after the Korean word for Mars, reached an altitude of 3,724.9 km (2,314.6 miles) and flew 998 km (620 miles) before landing in the waters off the Korean peninsula’s east coast, according to KCNA.
North Korea to justify nuclear arms program in ASEAN meeting
North Korea is no stranger to ASEAN meetings, with Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, who has attended most of the past events, due to deliver remarks in a plenary meeting scheduled on Monday (August 7).
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, says Pyongyang is unlikely to call off its nuclear program, which he says is used to pressure the U.S.
“At the current stage, where the level of distrust is so deep between the two Koreas, the North might come out trying to justify its possession of nuclear power during the ARF meeting,” the professor said.
“North Korea’s ICBM is more for pressuring the U.S. than South Korea. It is predictable that the North will further maintain its status as nuclear state until U.S. signs the peace treaty and its relationship with the U.S. is normalized,” Yang Moo-jin added.
Measures vs N.Korea provocations to be proposed by S.Korea
South Korea’s new Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-Wha says she will discuss measures against North Korea’s provocations when she travels to Manila for the ASEAN Regional Forum.
Though Seoul says it is still finalizing bilateral meeting plans in Manila, and that nothing is yet confirmed, Yang says it is unlikely that Kang and Ri will meet.
“Now we are at the stage of planning bilateral meetings with most of the major countries (attending the meeting). We are finalizing the meeting schedule, but none of it is confirmed.”
In April this year, North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Han Song-ryol gave an interview to BBC insisting that it will “be conducting more missile tests on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis.”
In the interview with BBC’s John Sudworth, the North Korean official warned of an “all out war” if the US took military action.
He told BBC that North Korea believed its nuclear weapons “protect” it from any threat of military action coming from the US military.
These activities by North Korea have alarmed world leaders, and were met by international condemnation.
(Reuters, with a report from BBC)
