North Korea carried out its latest test launch of a ballistic missile Tuesday morning.
South Korea’s military said the missile flew about 930 kilometers before landing in the Sea of Japan after about 40 minutes.
The U.S. military’s Pacific Command said the test was of an intermediate range ballistic missile.
North Korea has accelerated its weapons testing program in defiance of United Nations sanctions as it seeks to develop a device that can deliver a nuclear warhead to North America. It has said it is “not far away” from test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile with the potential of hitting the U.S. mainland.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said all options including military force are available to combat threats from North Korea.
North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life? Hard to believe that South Korea…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 4, 2017
….and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 4, 2017
He used Twitter to respond to Tuesday’s launch, suggesting U.S. allies in the push to rein in North Korea’s nuclear program could be losing patience.
“Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!” Trump wrote.
Trump has called on China, North Korea’s biggest ally, to do more to pressure North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The White House said Sunday that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed in a phone call their “commitment to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.”
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who also discussed the North Korean threat in a phone call with Trump, said Tuesday he plans to call on Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin to “play a more constructive role.”
“North Korea has once again pushed through with the launch of another ballistic missile, ignoring repeated warnings from the international community,” Abe said. “Japan will work to increase international pressure on North Korea by uniting strongly with the U.S. and South Korea.” | via voanews