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The UN Security Council failed to issue a statement on the recent series of weapons tests by nuclear-weapon states
North Korean state media said on Friday that North Korea had successfully launched a new type of air defense missile because the UN Security Council failed to issue a statement after holding an emergency meeting on North Korea’s recent series of weapons tests.
The official North Korean Central News Agency stated that the anti-aircraft missile has “excellent combat performance”, including dual rudder control and other new technologies.
A photo in the official newspaper of “Rodong Sinmun” showed that the missile lifted off from the launch vehicle at an angle on Thursday.
This is the latest in Pyongyang’s series of measures to increase tensions. Since the change of US government in January, Pyongyang has been waiting for an opportunity.
In September, it launched what it calls a long-range cruise missile and tested what it calls a hypersonic glide vehicle earlier this week, which the South Korean military says appears to be in the early stages of development.
On Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un condemned Washington’s repeated unconditional talks as a “trick” and accused the Biden administration of continuing the “hostile policy” of his predecessor.
South Korea’s Ministry of Defense told AFP that it could not immediately confirm the latest launch.
Anti-aircraft missiles are much smaller than the ballistic missiles that North Korea is prohibited from developing by a UN Security Council resolution, and they are more difficult to detect from a distance.
Pyongyang has been subject to a number of international sanctions for its weapons programs, which have made rapid progress under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, including missiles that can cover the entire continental United States and the most powerful nuclear test to date.
The latest tests have sparked condemnation from the international community, and US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken stated that they “bring greater prospects for instability and insecurity.”
The Friday UN Security Council meeting on North Korea, convened by the United States, Britain and France, was originally scheduled to be held on Thursday.
But a diplomatic source said that Russia and China requested more time to study the situation, but postponed the meeting.
The meeting lasted only over an hour. A diplomat from a Security Council member said that France hopes that the Security Council will subsequently issue a public statement expressing “concern” about North Korea’s behavior, but China and Russia once again stated that they need more time.
A diplomat said that most members of the Council wanted to make a statement, but Russia and China opposed it.
The diplomat said that during the meeting, China complained that the new alliance between Britain, Australia and the United States poses a threat to the region, and Washington will provide Canberra with nuclear submarine technology under the alliance. The diplomat added that the US and British delegations stated that this issue has nothing to do with North Korea.
Beijing is Pyongyang’s main ally and under normal circumstances is Pyongyang’s largest provider of trade and aid, although North Korea has been in a self-locked state since the beginning of last year because it closed its borders to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
North Korea has long used weapon tests to exacerbate tensions and has tried to advance its goals in a carefully calibrated process.
RAND’s Soo Kim told AFP that Kim Jong-un’s latest action is to “test the waters with Washington” and his “threshold for weapon provocation”.
She added: “Before the Biden administration starts to back down, he may want to see how much he can escape.”
South Korean President Moon Jae-in recently called again for the official declaration of the end of the Korean War-hostilities ceased in 1953 in the form of an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Moon Jae-in’s tenure is only a few months away, and Soo Kim pointed out that he may hope to achieve “achievements” with North Korea before his term expires.
“Kim may be using his strengths-and the weaknesses of Moon Jae-in’s government-by raising a notch on the challenge ladder.”
Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between Kim Jong Un and then President Donald Trump in 2019, when the sanctions were lifted and North Korea was willing to give up in return, negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have effectively stalled.
Washington and Seoul are security allies, and the United States has stationed approximately 28,500 soldiers in the south to protect them from neighboring countries.
In August, the two countries held joint military exercises, which always angered Pyongyang.
Under the leadership of President Joe Biden, the United States has repeatedly expressed its willingness to meet with North Korean representatives and at the same time that it will seek denuclearization.
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