Secretary of State Rex Tillerson vowed Tuesday that the U.S. would
"never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea" while U.S. and South Korean
forces held joint ballistic missile drills after the Communist nation
successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Tillerson also called for all nations to fully
implement United Nations sanctions against North Korea, saying "global
action is required to stop a global threat."
Meanwhile, the U.S. military said it had conducted a
"precision firing" demonstration off the coast of the Korean Peninsula
in response to what it called North Korea's "destabilizing and unlawful
actions."
Pentagon spokesman Dana White also condemned the
missile test and reiterated that, "we remain prepared to defend
ourselves and our allies and to use the full range of capabilities at
our disposal against the growing threat from North Korea."
President Trump did not directly mention North Korea
or the missile launch during his Independence Day remarks at a picnic
for military families on the South Lawn of the White House. However, he
did note that "we do have challenges, but we will handle those
challenges. Believe me."
U.S., South Korean and Japanese officials say the
North Korean missile flew for about 40 minutes and reached an altitude
of 1,500 miles, which would be longer and higher than any similar North
Korean test previously reported. It also covered a distance of about 580
miles.
A veteran North Korea watcher told Fox News Tuesday
that the missile was fired from a mobile launcher, making such tests
more difficult for the U.S. to track and disrupt.
"This is the big story we have all been waiting for,”
Professor Bruce Bechtol of Angelo State University in Texas wrote in an
email. “All of the paradigms have changed. It is now time to see what
action the USA will take."
Bechtol added that the mobile launcher "nearly
destroys our warning time and also means that the North Koreans have a
real shot at launching this system at us without us being able to
destroy it on the ground."
Shortly after news of the test broke Monday night,
Trump tweeted, "North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this
guy have anything better to do with his life? 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!"
"This guy" presumably refers to North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un. China is North Korea's economic lifeline and only major
ally, and the Trump administration is pushing Beijing to do more to push
the North toward disarmament.
The U.N. Security Council was due to hold an
emergency meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss its response to the
launch. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley tweeted her frustration
at spending her Independence Day holiday in high-level meetings with the
hashtag, "#ThanksNorthKorea."
The missile test could invite a new round of
international sanctions, but North Korea is already one of the most
sanctioned countries on Earth. U.N. Security Council resolutions ban it
from engaging in any ballistic activities. Since late 2012, North Korea
has placed two satellites into orbit with long-range rockets, each time
triggering new U.N. sanctions and worldwide condemnation.
Earlier Tuesday, the Chinese and Russian foreign
ministries proposed that North Korea declare a moratorium on nuclear and
missile tests while the United States and South Korea refrain from
large-scale joint military exercises. North Korea views the exercises as
preparation for an invasion and has repeatedly demanded their
cancellation. It says it needs nuclear weapons and powerful missiles to
cope with what it calls rising U.S. military threats.
Moscow and Beijing issued the proposal in a joint
statement after talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
They urged other nations to create a "peaceful
atmosphere of mutual trust" to encourage talks between the two sides on
commitments not to use force and to make the Korean Peninsula free of
nuclear weapons.
Regional disarmament talks on North Korea's nuclear
program have been deadlocked since 2009, when the North pulled out of
the negotiations to protest international condemnation over a long-range
rocket launch.
North Korea has a reliable arsenal of shorter-range
missiles and is thought to have a small arsenal of atomic bombs, but is
still trying to perfect its longer-range missiles. Some outside civilian
experts believe the North has the technology to mount warheads on
shorter-range Rodong and Scud missiles that can strike South Korea and
Japan, two key U.S. allies where about 80,000 American troops are
stationed. But it's unclear if it has mastered the technology needed to
build an atomic bomb that can fit on a long-range missile.
