Pyongyang fired “several cruise missiles” into the Yellow Sea on Saturday between the Korean peninsula and China, the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said, but remains silent on the fate of the American serviceman who escaped to its territory from the south on Tuesday.
In addition, at the UN, several ambassadors have asked China for its “assistance” on North Korea.
The missile fire took place on Saturday around 4 a.m. local time (7 p.m. GMT Friday), according to the same source. They come three days after those of two ballistic missiles, this time in the Sea of Japan, on the opposite east coast.
“South Korean and American intelligence are analyzing the launches while monitoring for signs of additional activity,” the South Korean military added.
Relations between the two Koreas are at an all-time low, with diplomacy stalled and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calling for an accelerated arms race, including tactical nuclear weapons.
The latest cruise missile launches come as a US soldier, Travis King, entered North Korea from the south on Tuesday and is possibly being held there by authorities, according to the US military.
The soldier, who was serving a prison sentence in South Korea for assault, had to return to the United States to face disciplinary sanctions.
North Korea had still not given any news of him to Washington on Friday, the American army saying it was “very concerned” about the fate and “the way in which Travis King could be treated”.
“The Pentagon has attempted to contact the North Korean military to inquire about King’s situation but has received no response,” State Department spokesman Matt Miller said Thursday.
The same day, Pyongyang declared that the stopover in South Korea of an American nuclear submarine could “fall within the scope of the conditions of use” of its own atomic weapons.
Seoul responded the next day to these threats by reaffirming that any such attack would trigger a response leading to the “end” of Kim Jong Un’s regime.
- Call to China –
North Korea has been subject to international sanctions since 2006, which were increased three times in 2017.
The measures taken that year unanimously by the Security Council to compel Pyongyang to interrupt its nuclear and ballistic weapons programs notably limit oil imports from North Korea.
According to a letter seen by AFP on Friday, the United States, the European Union, South Korea and other countries have requested China’s “assistance” to prevent North Korea from circumventing UN oil sanctions by using Chinese territorial waters.
The document is signed by the UN ambassadors of Australia, Canada, France, EU, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, UK and USA.
They seek assistance from their Chinese counterpart Zhang Jun, saying they are particularly “concerned about the repeated presence of multiple tankers” identified by the UN Sanctions Panel of Experts “who are using your national waters in Sansha Bay as a haven to facilitate their trade in sanctioned petroleum products” to North Korea.
In May 2022, China and Russia vetoed a resolution imposing new sanctions on Pyongyang, and no Council resolution or statement has been adopted since.
The United States in particular regularly accuses Beijing and Moscow of serving as a “shield” for the North Korean regime and of encouraging new firings by preventing a united response from the Council.
US, South Korean and Japanese leaders are due to meet in August in the United States to strengthen their cooperation in the face of growing threats from Pyongyang.
During the same month, Washington and Seoul are due to begin their main annual joint military maneuvers, dubbed the Ulchi Freedom Shield.
These exercises are very badly perceived by North Korea, which sees in them rehearsals for an invasion of its territory.
This article is originally published on lepetitjournal.com
