South Korea yesterday said it was on heightened alert ahead of another important anniversary in North Korea, with a large concentration of military hardware amassed on both sides of the border amid concerns about a new nuclear test by Pyongyang.
US officials said there was a higher-than-usual level of activity by Chinese bombers, signaling a possible heightened state of readiness by Beijing, reclusive North Korea’s sole major ally, although the officials played down concern and left open a range of possible reasons.
US and South Korean officials have been saying for weeks that the North could soon stage another nuclear test in violation of UN sanctions, something both the US and China have warned against.
North Korea marks the 85th anniversary of the foundation of its Korean People’s Army on Tuesday, an important anniversary that comes at the end of major winter military drills, South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Lee Duk-haeng said.
Top envoys from the US, South Korea and Japan on North Korea are due to meet on Tuesday, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, to “discuss plans to rein in North Korea’s additional high-strength provocations, to maximize pressure on the North and to ensure China’s constructive role in resolving the North Korea nuclear issue.”
South Korea and the US have also been conducting annual joint military exercises, which the North routinely criticizes as a prelude to invasion.
“It is a situation where a lot of exercise equipment is amassed in North Korea and also a lot of strategic assets are situated on the Korean Peninsula because of the South Korea-US military drills,” Lee told a news briefing. “We are closely watching the situation and will not be letting our guard down.”
US President Donald Trump on Thursday praised Chinese efforts to rein in “the menace of North Korea,” after North Korean state media warned the US of a “super-mighty preemptive strike.”
Trump told a news conference “some very unusual moves have been made over the last two or three hours,” and that he was confident Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) would “try very hard” to pressure North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs.
Trump gave no indication of what the moves might be.
None of the US officials who spoke about the heightened level of activity by Chinese bombers suggested alarm or signaled that they knew the precise reason for such activity.
A Chinese newspaper yesterday said there was optimism about persuading North Korea to end its pursuit of a nuclear program without the use of force, “now that even the once tough-talking Donald Trump is onboard for a peaceful solution.”
“Beijing has demonstrated due enthusiasm for Washington’s newfound interest in a diplomatic solution and willingness to work more closely with it,” the state-run China Daily said in an editorial.
Tensions have risen sharply after North Korea conducted two nuclear weapons tests last year and carried out a steady stream of ballistic missile tests. Trump has vowed to prevent North Korea from being able to hit the US with a nuclear missile.
North Korea has said it would test missiles when it sees fit and a South Korean analyst said he believed they would do so.
“Without crossing the red line such as a nuclear test or a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, until the April 25 anniversary of the Korean People’s Army, North Korea is expected to continue to launch mid-range missiles,” Sejong Institute senior research fellow Cheong Seong-chang said.
The joint US-South Korea military exercises are due to finish at the end of this month.
A US aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, is heading toward the Korean Peninsula, Trump’s administration has said.
North Korea test-fired what the US believed was a mid-range missile last Sunday. It blew up almost immediately.
The failed launch came a day after the 105th anniversary of the birth of North Korean founding father Kim Il-sung, current leader Kim Jong-un’s grandfather.
There is concern the North will use the next big day on its calendar, Tuesday, to show off its strength.
“Although North Korea attempted a missile launch, but failed on April 16, considering the April 25 anniversary of the Korean People’s Army, there are concerns that it can make another provocation again at any time,” South Korean Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn told top officials on Thursday, as he called on the military to maintain readiness.
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