Washington, Tokyo and Seoul call for UN emergency meeting after North Korea missile launch

The missile traveled 500 km before falling into the Sea of ​​Japan. "Great satisfaction" of Kim Jong-un. Shinzo Abe: "Intolerable". Trump: US "100%" close to Japan. China, Pyongyang's only ally, remains silent.

 

New York (AsiaNews) – The United States, Japan and South Korea have called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council after the missile tests launched yesterday by North Korea. The meeting should take place at noon today (local time).

Pyongyang has rated the launch of a medium-range surface-to-surface missile on a Pukgusong2 support as "successful". The missile was launched at 7:55 yesterday from the Bangyong air base, in the northwest of the country. After traveling 500km, it sunk in the Sea of ​​Japan (East Sea, according to the North Koreans). It used solid fuel, which gives the missile greater power and range.

The state agency KCNA reported the "great satisfaction" of leader Kim Jong-un, which - he said - "adds to the tremendous might of the country".

Yesterday's was the latest in a series of at least 20 missile tests conducted by North Korea. According to experts their characteristics may enable them to attack and hit Japan and even Alaska.

The United Nations resolutions prohibit North Korea from carrying out missile tests, to curb its efforts to become a nuclear military power, but for years Pyongyang refuses to submit.

This latest test is seen by analysts as a provocation to the strengthening of the alliance between the United States, Japan and South Korea.  In fact Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is in the US and spent the weekend with the newly elected President Donald Trump. Abe has called Pyongyang’s actions  "intolerable"; Trump did not comment on the missile launch, but said that the US is "100%" beside Japan.

The Korean Foreign Ministry called the test "an armed provocation" to test President Trump’s  reactions.

The only country that still has good relations with North Korea is China, which allows aid to the regime of Kim Jong-un to survive. But Beijing has not yet issued any official comment. In recent months, Beijing has joined the rest of the international community in implementing the embargo on some aspects of the North Korean economy, but according to Donald Trump China "is not doing enough" to hold off his ally.

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