North Korea fired numerous artillery shells on Friday night. The South Korean military said it had discovered the first of around 80 artillery shells in the sea border area between North Korea and South Korea shortly before midnight on Thursday. North Korea’s behavior is a violation of the 2018 agreement between the two countries. The South Korean Ministry of Defense has sent a warning to North Korea.
According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, North Korea again fired several ballistic missiles in the direction of the Sea of Japan on Thursday, apparently including an ICBM. The US condemned the missile test. They called on the UN Security Council to publicly discuss North Korea’s missile tests on Friday. The US assumes that North Korea is preparing for a nuclear bomb test. However, it is not clear when exactly the test should take place, a US government official who asked not to be named, told Reuters in an exclusive interview.
USA hopes for influence of China and Russia
However, the United States believed that Russia and China could persuade the North Korean government not to resume nuclear testing: “China and Russia have long opposed North Korea’s nuclear program. We believe and expect that they will use their influence to persuade the People’s Republic of North Korea not to conduct a nuclear test.”
The official urged Pyongyang to resume dialogue with the United States. Washington is ready to contact North Korea directly and talk about humanitarian aid. He dismissed increasing calls from some North Korea experts for the country to be recognized as a nuclear power that would never disarm.
“There is an extraordinarily strong global consensus that North Korea cannot and must not be a nuclear power,” the US administration official said.
At the beginning of September, North Korea passed a nuclear weapons law that provides for the right to carry out a nuclear first strike in self-defense. The status as a nuclear power is also “irreversibly” anchored in it, as reported by the country’s state media.
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