Beijing opposed to DPRK missile launch

[ahojunk]

Beijing opposed to DPRK missile launch
2017-02-14 08:41 | China Daily | Editor: Wang Fan

China voiced opposition to the latest missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and urged all parties involved to shoulder their responsibility to solve the Korean Peninsula issue peacefully through dialogue.

On Sunday morning, the DPRK launched a missile that analysts said was meant to test the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. It is the first such launch since Trump took office on January 20.

The DPRK's Korean Central News Agency said the missile was a Pukguksong-2, a Korean-style, new type of strategic weapons system that can be equipped "with a nuclear warhead".

"China opposes the DPRK violating United Nations Security Council resolutions and conducting the missile launch," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a daily news conference in Beijing on Monday.

Geng said that China, which is "following closely" how things develop, will attend a UN Security Council consultation over the launch "in the spirit of being responsible and constructive".

The United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea requested urgent UN Security Council consultations.

Geng reiterated that the root cause of the issue of the DPRK's nuclear and missile development lies in the differences the DPRK has with the U.S. and the ROK. He said that China is willing to work with those countries, including the U.S., to solve the issue.

China has been working to promote talks between parties involved, Geng said, adding that "dialogue and consultation is the final way out for solving the issue of the Korean Peninsula".

"We hope all parties can take up their own responsibilities and do what they should do," he said.

Huang Youfu, an expert in Korean studies at Minzu University of China, said the Foreign Ministry's response shows China's consistent position regarding the issue.

Huang said China believes that the DPRK should follow UN Security Council resolutions, while parties involved should not consider the launch an excuse to complicate the situation or heighten tension in the peninsula.

Pointing out that "the main parties of dialogue" are the U.S. and the DPRK, Huang said: "It's crucial that the DPRK stops its nuclear and missile development, in the first place. On the other hand, the U.S. and the ROK shouldn't keep on resorting to military pressure, which could force the DPRK to go against UN resolutions."

 

[egodoc222]

This is laughable....you guys give em the nukes...give ICBM technology and now you voice opposition?
If there is nuclear war...China should be held accountable for nuclear proliferation!!

 

[艹艹艹]

 

[BHarwana]

Oh come on it is a beautiful piece of tech. Pukkuksong-2 is lovely missile. here have a look
This is the cold ejection of the missile

This is the ignition of the missile

Pukguksong-2 in flight

Now look at this lovely Tel

 

[shadows888]

This is laughable....you guys give em the nukes...give ICBM technology and now you voice opposition?
If there is nuclear war...China should be held accountable for nuclear proliferation!!

they would be way farther along with their nukes and rockets if china give them. it's 2017 and they are still barely able to get a missile off lmao.

 

[Tshering22]

Why oppose them if their regime is friendly to Beijing?

The missile they are making is anyway no threat to China.

 

[艹艹艹]

 

[IceCold]

This cold ejection was beautiful. Loved the way missile pop out and then ignited.

 

[ahojunk]

WORLD NEWS | Mon Mar 6, 2017 | 2:05am EST
North Korea fires four ballistic missiles into sea near Japan

By Ju-min Park and Kaori Kaneko | SEOUL/TOKYO

North Korea fired four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan's northwest early on Monday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, days after it promised retaliation over U.S.-South Korea military drills it sees as a preparation for war.

South Korea's military said the missiles were unlikely to have been intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), which can reach the United States. The missiles flew on average 1,000 km (620 miles) and reached a height of 260 km (160 miles).

Some of the missiles landed in waters as close as 300 km (190 miles) from Japan's northwest coast, Japan's Defence Minister Tomomi Inada said in Tokyo.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said "strong protests" had been lodged with nuclear-armed North Korea.

"The launches are clearly in violation of (United Nations) Security Council resolutions. It is an extremely dangerous action," Abe told parliament.

South Korea's acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn condemned the launches as a direct challenge to the international community and said Seoul would swiftly deploy a U.S. anti-missile defense system despite angry objections from China.

The missiles were launched from the Tongchang-ri region near the reclusive North's border with China, South Korean military spokesman Roh Jae-cheon told a briefing. It was too early to say what the relatively low altitude indicated about the types of missiles, he said.

Joshua Pollack, editor of the U.S.-based Non-Proliferation Review, said it did not appear the North had launched an ICBM.

"It sounds like a field exercise involving deployed missiles, probably ones we've seen before," Pollack said.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, also told Reuters there were no indications so far that North Korea had tested an ICBM.

The U.S. military said it detected and tracked what it assessed was a North Korean missile launch, but it did not pose a threat to North America.


JOINT DRILLS

North Korea had threatened to take "strong retaliatory measures" after South Korea and the United States began annual joint military drills on Wednesday that test their defensive readiness against possible aggression from the North.

North Korea criticizes the annual drills and has previously conducted missile launches to coincide with the exercises.

Last year, North Korea fired a long-range rocket from Tongchang-ri that put an object into orbit. That launch was condemned by the United Nations for violating resolutions that ban the use of ballistic missile technology.

North Korea test-fired a new type of missile into the sea early last month, and has said it would continue to launch new strategic weapons.

Last month's test was the first since the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has vowed to rein in North Korea and its young leader, Kim Jong Un.

Trump's national security deputies have reviewed in recent meetings a range of options to counter the North's missile threat, the New York Times reported. Options include direct missile strikes on the North's launch sites and the possibility of reintroducing nuclear weapons to the South, the Times said.

Those options will soon be presented to Trump and his top national security aides, the report said, quoting U.S. administration officials.

The United States withdrew nuclear weapons from South Korea in 1991 before the rival Koreas signed a declaration on denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. North Korea has since walked away from the agreement, citing the threat of invasion by the United States.

North Korea conducted its fifth and most powerful nuclear test last September, following what the United States said was an "unprecedented" level of activity in its banned nuclear and missile programs.

State media said after that test Pyongyang had used a nuclear warhead small enough to mount on a ballistic missile.

The United States has about 28,500 troops and equipment stationed in the South, and plans to roll out the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile defense system by the end of the year.

Japan also plans to reinforce its ballistic missile defenses and is considering buying either THAAD or building a ground-based version of the Aegis system that is currently deployed on ships in the Sea of Japan.


(Additional reporting by Christine Kim and James Pearson in SEOUL, Tim Kelly in TOKYO and Phil Stewart in WASHINGTON Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Paul Tait)

********

DPRK is indeed provocative.

 

[BHarwana]

North Korea fires 4 ‘ballistic missiles’ amid Seoul's joint drills with US
North Korea has reportedly launched four missiles into the Sea of Japan, three of which landed in Japanese territorial waters.
Earlier, the Yonhap news agency reported that North Korea had fired a single “unidentified projectile” off the country’s east coast. After reviewing data, the South Korean military revised the count to four projectiles, Reuters reported.

The military is trying to determine the type of rocket that was tested, but the South Korean agency has already cited an unnamed military official as saying it “could” have been an intercontinental ballistic missile “capable of reaching the US mainland.”
"We estimate the North fired four ballistic missiles. We are conducting an analysis (with the US) on the missiles to determine their type and other specifications. It will take a while before we can come up with a final analysis (based on US satellite data)," South Korea's Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

Meanwhile, an anonymous US military official who spoke to Reuters, emphasized that there are no indications so far that North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The projectiles were launched early Monday morning at 7:36 am local time from the Dongchang-ri long-range missile site, Yonhap reported citing S. Korea’s military. The unidentified objects flew across the country for about 1,000 kilometers before plunging into the East Sea.

Tokyo has lodged a "strong protest" with North Korea over the projectile tests.

"The latest launches of ballistic missiles clearly demonstrate evidence of a new threat from North Korea," Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters at his residence.
https://www.rt.com/news/379531-korea-missile-projectile-launch/

 

[Beast]

China shall just invade NK and kick the stupid Fat Kim out. Bring peace back to Korean Peninsula

 

[Hassan Guy]

Who cares about that

Why did they kill Kim-Jong Nam?

 

[rott]

China shall just invade NK and kick the stupid Fat Kim out. Bring peace back to Korean Peninsula

Bro, isn't he a counter weight to the US?

 

[BHarwana]

Bro, isn't he a counter weight to the US?

He is not just a counter weight he is a direct threat to US and he is very important in the regional stability. Without him every other nation is against China's interests and he is a good road block for USA.

 

[rott]

He is not just a counter weight he is a direct threat to US and he is very important in the regional stability. Without him every other nation is against China's interests and he is a good road block for USA.

Thanks bro, you just expanded my one liner.