North Korea Fires Another Ballistic Missile Despite Threats Of Sanctions

North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, the latest in a series of launches which have sparked international condemnation and threats of stiffer UN sanctions.


US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described the launch, the second in a week and the 10th this year, as “disappointing” and “disturbing,” but rejected a suggestion that the US strategy to tackle North Korea was not working.

The missile, described by Washington as medium-range, was fired from Pukchang in South Pyongan province and travelled about 500 kilometres (310 miles), according to the South’s armed forces.


“Our military is closely monitoring signs for additional provocation by the North Korean military and we are keeping a full military readiness,” reported by a Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The launch came just one week after the North fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missile, which according to Pyongyang flew almost 800 kilometres and was capable of carrying a “heavy” nuclear warhead.

Analysts said the Hwasong travelled further than any previous ballistic missile launched by the North. The May 14 launch was seen as a significant step forward as the North accelerates efforts to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental United States.

The launches, and a threatened sixth nuclear test, have increased  tension with the administration of US President Donald Trump, who has vowed that such an ICBM launch “won’t happen”. He warned that no option is off the table in dealing with the North’s weapons programme, although Washington has so far opted for sanctions and diplomatic pressure, while looking to China, the North’s closest ally, to step up economic pressure on Pyongyang. Tillerson said the effects of these measures had yet to fully take effect. “I think we are early in the game of putting pressure on them, and one could also interpret that perhaps they are just acting out now in response to some of this pressure,” he said in an interview with Fox News Sunday.