Japan vows action after N Korea fires missile into its waters

SEOUL — North Korea test-fired a missile yesterday into Japan’s maritime economic zone — the latest in a series of provocative launches that have heightened tensions over its nuclear weapons ambitions.

It was the North’s third ballistic missile test in as many weeks since South Korean President Moon Jae-in was inaugurated on May 10, and the twelfth this year carried out in defiance of United Nations sanctions warnings and American threats of possible military action. United States military monitors said the short-range missile flew for six minutes, while Japan said it fell into its exclusive economic zone, extending about 360km from the coast.

The launch went ahead despite tough talk from US President Donald Trump, who promised last week at the G7 summit that the “big problem” of North Korea “will be solved”.

In a tweet last night, Mr Trump said: “North Korea has shown great disrespect for their neighbour, China, by shooting off yet another ballistic missile ... but China is trying hard!”

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned the test and vowed concerted action with its US ally.

“We will never tolerate North Korea’s continued provocations that ignore repeated warnings by the international community,” Mr Abe told reporters. “As agreed during the G7 summit, the North Korean problem is the international community’s top priority. In order to deter North Korea, we will take concrete action with the United States,” he added.

The South condemned the missile test as a “grave threat” and a challenge to Mr Moon, who advocates dialogue with the North in a break from his conservative predecessors. “That the North repeated such provocations after the inauguration of our new leadership ... is a direct challenge to our demand for peace and denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,” the South Korean foreign ministry said.

Mr Moon also ordered a meeting of the national security council to assess the launch, which came a day after North Korea said its leader Kim Jong-un had overseen the test of a new anti-aircraft weapons system.

Mr Moon has signalled an interest in expanding civilian exchanges with North Korea, but it is unclear if he will be able to push anytime soon for major rapprochement while the North continues to make serious advances in its nuclear and missile programmes.

After the latest missile launch, China urged North Korea yesterday to create the conditions for a return to talks.

“At present, the situation on the Korean peninsula is complex and sensitive, and we hope all relevant sides maintain calm and exercise restraint,” China’s foreign ministry said.

North Korea has been stepping up efforts towards its ultimate goal — developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can deliver a nuclear warhead to the continental US.

The latest missile launch demonstrates the North’s determination to secure more leverage in any future negotiations with the US, said Mr Cho Han-Bum, a security analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

“Today’s launch is Pyongyang’s way of saying to the world: ‘It wouldn’t be easy to make us suspend our weapons programmes even if you manage to pressure me into negotiations’,” Mr Cho said. AGENCIES