US, North Korea flex military muscles as tensions simmer

SEOUL — The United States and North Korea both showed off their military prowess yesterday as nations in the region stepped up diplomatic talks to defuse a brewing crisis over Mr Kim Jong-un’s nuclear programme.

Yonhap News reported that Mr Kim attended North Korea’s largest-ever live-fire artillery exercise east of Pyongyang.

The South Korean military was monitoring the situation and “firmly maintaining readiness”, the Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The report comes amid concerns that North Korea may seek to mark the 85th anniversary of the Korean People’s Army with its sixth nuclear test.

Hours earlier, the nuclear-powered USS Michigan, one of four Ohio-class guided-missile submarines capable of launching cruise missiles, arrived at the South Korean port of Busan, US Naval Forces Korea said in a statement. South Korea’s navy called the visit “routine” and said it had no plans for a joint military drill with the submarine.

The US also has an aircraft carrier stationed near the Korean peninsula that is conducting exercises with its counterparts from South Korea and Japan in nearby waters yesterday and today.

North Korea’s state media was defiant, saying its military was prepared “to bring to closure the history of US scheming and nuclear blackmail”.

“There is no limit to the strike power of the People’s Army armed with our style of cutting-edge military equipment including various precision and miniaturised nuclear weapons and submarine-launched ballistic missiles,” the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a front-page editorial.

President Donald Trump is seeking to press North Korea by emphasising that all options — including military action — are on the table to prevent Mr Kim from achieving the ability to strike North America with a nuclear weapon.

Envoys on North Korean affairs from the US, Japan and South Korea agreed yesterday to keep up the pressure on Mr Kim’s regime to give up its nuclear programme, including through sanctions and cooperation with China.

The envoys agreed “to maximise pressure against North Korea by taking punitive measures that are hard to endure through a UN Security Council resolution and separate measures by the three countries if it persists with its provocations”, South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said during a briefing on the meeting.

Mr Joseph Yun, the US special representative for North Korea policy, told reporters in Tokyo that “China has a very, very important role to play” to convince its neighbour to abandon its nuclear programme. South Korean envoy Kim Hong-kyun said they also discussed the need for Russia’s cooperation on the issue.

China has sought to calm tensions on the Korean peninsula by emphasising diplomacy. In a phone call with Mr Trump on Monday, President Xi Jinping urged all parties to avoid actions that might make the situation worse, and to work within the framework of UN Security Council resolutions.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang again called for restraint yesterday, saying the situation on the Korean peninsula was “complex and sensitive”.

The White House is planning to brief senators about North Korea today as Mr Trump weighs his options to deal with the regime. AGENCIES