SEOUL: North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile over the weekend, a little after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned that failure to curb Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs could lead to “catastrophic consequences”. US and South Korean officials said the test, conducted from an area north of the North Korean capital, seemed to have failed.
A South Korean official said the test came as the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group arrived in waters near the Korean peninsula where it began exercises with the South Korean navy on Saturday, 12 hours after the failed launch. Speaking in a UN Security Council meeting on North Korea, Tillerson said all options were on the table if Pyongyang persisted with its nuclear and missile development. When President Donald Trump was asked about his message to Kim Jong Un, he refused to elaborate, just telling reporters, “You'll soon find out”.
Speaking at the UN meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said it was not only up to China to solve the North Korean problem. “The key to solving the nuclear issue on the peninsula does not lie in the hands of the Chinese side,” Wang said. The Korean peninsula has been high on tension for the past few weeks as fears that the North may conduct a long-range missile test, around the time of its state founder's birth looms over.
