World leaders have gathered in China for the G-20 summit, but that doesn’t include Kim Jong-un from North Korea. So of course the little tyrannical leader has to show off for everyone that he is cool and a total threat by launching three missiles off North Korea’s east coast:
“This is Pyongyang’s way of reminding everyone of their existence at a moment when all the parties are together, in a typically defiant, North Korean way,” John Delury, assistant professor at Yonsei University in South Korea, told CNN.
After the launch, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed the incident privately “and agreed to cooperate on monitoring the situation.”
The missiles were fired from areas around Hwangju county, in North Hwanghae province, towards the Sea of Japan, South Korea’s military said in a statement.Officials said the launch was believed to be of mid-range Rodong missiles, and flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) “without giving any prior navigational warning.”
The U.S. condemned the launch:
“Today’s reckless launches by North Korea pose threats to civil aviation and maritime commerce in the region,” the White House said in a statement. “North Korea’s continued development of its UN-proscribed nuclear and ballistic missile programs threatens the United States; our allies, Japan and the Republic of Korea; and our partners in the region.”
But Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada lashed out at North Korea and stated the launch is a “serious threat” to Japan:
“Looking at the fact that the three missiles have landed on almost the same spot at almost the same time, I think their missile technology has substantially improved,” she said.
China cannot be thrilled about the timing. But then again Kim Jong-un probably doesn’t care about embarrassing China, his one real ally in this world:
Meanwhile, China’s foreign minister spokeswoman Hua Chunying called for calm. “At the moment, the situation on the (Korean) peninsula is quite complex and sensitive,” Hua said.”We hope all relevant parties can avoid taking actions that may escalate tensions, and can make joint efforts to maintain peace and stability on the peninsula.”
In other words, calm down, North Korea.
The launch also occurred hours after Park met with Chinese President Xi Jinping about North Korea. Park told Xi that China’s close ties to North Korea could disrupt its relationship with South Korea. Xi told Park that his country remains committed to “the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”
Of course, the issue brought up the THAAD anti-missile system from the U.S. to South Korea. China opposes the move, but Park reminded Xi that South Korea needs it to counter threats from North Korea:
Park said that a THAAD [Terminal High Altitude Area Defense] deployment would not threaten any other country’s security interests and would not be needed if the North’s nuclear issue was resolved, Yonhap news agency said.
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