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A8 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 20 May 2017
N.Korea vows to strengthen nukes as U.S. increases pressure

EDITH M. LEDERER missile.
MATTHEW PENNINGTON Guiding a long-range mis-
Associated Press sile to a target on return to
Associated Press Earth is a key technologi-
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — cal hurdle that North Korea
The U.S. defense chief must overcome in trying to
warned Friday that a mili- perfect a missile that could
tary solution to the standoff threaten the United States.
with North Korea would be The North also probably
“tragic on an unbelievable has a way to go before it
scale,” while the North can miniaturize a nuclear
vowed to rapidly strength- warhead to mount on such
en its nuclear-strike capa- a missile.
bility as long as it faces a All 15 members of the U.N.
“hostile” U.S. policy. Security Council, the world
North Korea tested a organization’s most power-
longer-range missile last ful body, this week called
weekend, which experts the launch a violation of
say was a significant ad- existing sanctions and
vance for a weapons pro- vowed to take new mea-
gram that aims at having a sures, including additional
nuclear-tipped missile that sanctions.
can strike America. Before an emergency
The test triggered a new meeting of the council
U.S.-backed push for a Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks at the Pentagon, Friday, May 19, 2017, to give an update on Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador
the Islamic State group.
fresh round of U.N. sanc- Associated Press Nikki Haley declared: “You
tions against the North. either support North Korea
At the United Nations, hailed the test launch and cautions from the interna- na, work with Japan, work or you don’t, but you have
North Korea’s deputy am- said that if the Trump ad- tional community. How- with South Korea to try to to choose. You have to
bassador, ministration wants peace ever, he stressed the need find a way out of this situa- pick a side.”
Kim In Ryong, was defiant. on the divided Korean Pen- for a peaceful resolution by tion,” Mattis said at a news Kim accused the council
He said North Korea would insula, it should replace the working through the U.N. conference. of playing “to the tune of
never abandon its “nu- armistice that ended the with countries including He said North Korea “prob- the U.S. again” and pro-
clear deterrence for self- 1950-53 Korean War with a China, the North’s tradi- ably learned a lot” from last tested the Trump adminis-
defense and pre-emptive peace accord and halt its tional ally and benefactor. weekend’s test. tration’s demand for coun-
strike capability” even if anti-North Korea policy. “If this goes to a military so- He said the missile went tries to choose allegiance
the U.S. ratchets up sanc- At the Pentagon, Defense lution it is going to be tragic very high and came down, between the United States
tions and pressure “to the Secretary Jim Mattis said on an unbelievable scale, but he would not charac- and the Democratic Peo-
utmost.” the missile test showed and so our effort is to work terize it as demonstrating ple’s Republic of Korea, his
Speaking to reporters, Kim North Korea isn’t heeding with the U.N., work with Chi- the controlled re-entry of a country’s official name.q

Chinese, S. Korean officials

seek to mend rift with meetings

BEIJING (AP) — A senior for- sile defense system called eign Minister Wang Yi, on
eign policy adviser to Chi- THAAD. Lee said South Ko- Thursday reiterated calls for
nese President Xi Jinping rean President Moon Jae- its dismantling.
stressed the importance of In had dispatched him to “We’re now at a crossroads
relations with South Korea China to keep communi- in our relations,” Wang told
on Friday as the two coun- cations open between the Lee as he urged the new
tries attempt to mend a rift two countries “at a critical South Korean administra-
in ties over the deployment time.” Seoul and Wash- tion to make a decision to
of a U.S. missile-defense sys- ington have argued that “remove the obstacles”
tem to guard against North the missile system is aimed that stand in the way of
Korean threats. at North Korean aggres- healthy ties between the
State Councilor Yang Jie- sion, while China sees it as two Asian economic pow-
chi made the remarks at a threat to its own secu- erhouses. In recent weeks
the opening of a second rity. It has retaliated against Beijing and Seoul have
day of meetings between Seoul by suspending vis- signaled a desire to re- South Korea’s special envoy Lee Hae-chan, left, meets China’s
President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing,
Chinese officials and spe- its to South Korea by Chi- pair relations following the Friday, May 19, 2017.
cial envoy Lee Hae-chan, nese tour groups and trips election of Moon, who has Associated Press
a former South Korean to China by South Korean taken a friendlier stance
prime minister. entertainers. South Kore- toward China than his con- week to congratulate him hard line, and in an edito-
They were expected to an businesses have faced servative predecessor. Al- on his election, Moon re- rial Thursday, the Commu-
discuss ways of containing boycotts, especially the re- though he has sometimes portedly asked Xi for help nist Party newspaper Glob-
North Korea’s missile and tail group Lotte which pro- criticized the THAAD de- in ending the economic al Times said China’s oppo-
nuclear weapons activities vided the land on which ployment, Moon has not retaliation that has taken sition “cannot be traded
as well as the economic fall- the system is being con- said he will remove it. a toll on South Korean busi- for the new government’s
out over the deployment in structed. When Chinese President Xi nesses. friendly posture toward
South Korea of the U.S. mis- China’s top diplomat, For- Jinping called Moon last Beijing has maintained its China.”q