US warns North Korea of 'real consequences'
The United States yesterday warned North Korea of "real consequences" if it continues nuclear and missile tests in defiance of UN sanctions, as the international community moves to rein it in.
Pyongyang carried out its forth nuclear test in January, followed by a series of ballistic missile launches that sent tensions soaring across East Asia and beyond.
In response the UN Security Council slapped North Korea with its toughest sanctions to date in a unanimous decision even endorsed by China, its economic lifeline and diplomatic shield.
But Pyongyang has continued to carry out missile launches -- most recently last week -- in a bid to prove that sanctions are ineffective in curbing its weapons development.
"Together we are determined... to make absolutely certain that DPRK (North Korea) understands that there are real consequences for these actions," US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of Asian nations in Laos.
Analysts say this year's tests have shown the North making progress towards its goal of developing a credible strike threat against the US mainland, adding urgency to Washington's warnings.
The issue has dominated this week's talks in Vientiane, a rare opportunity for the six parties involved in stalled talks on ending North Korea's nuclear programme to be in the same room. The North's new foreign minister and former nuclear negotiator Ri Yong-Ho was making his diplomatic debut at the meeting, hosted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
The North's relentless sabre-rattling has sent waves of uncertainty across Asia and beyond.
Comments