The United States and South Korea warned on Monday that there would be a “quick” response in the event of a new nuclear test with North Korea, with further sanctions and even a review of the American “military position”.
“We are worried about what will happen with the seventh nuclear test,” US diplomacy chief Antony Blinken told the media, reiterating that Pyongyang is making “preparations” in this regard.
His South Korean counterpart, Park Jin, went even further, saying the North had “completed preparations”. I believe that “only a political decision is necessary” to take action.
Since last month, Washington has been preparing to break its moratorium on nuclear testing.
The international community will consider this as numerous “provocation” in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. A new test could put the US in a vulnerable position. The Americans were betting on continuing the dialogue to “denuclearize” North Korea.
President Joe Biden’s strategy so far has not worked, as his administration has acknowledged. This year, North Korean ballistic missiles were launched, including intercontinental ones.
– “No preconditions” – “We will continue to keep in touch with North Korea, we are in favor of seeking diplomatic rapprochement”, insisting Blinken affirmed his proposal for dialogue “without preconditions”.
The heads of diplomacy of the two allied countries also reiterated their offer of assistance in the face of the challenges North Korea faces with the covid-19 outbreak.
“Unfortunately, to date, what we’ve seen from North Korea has been a response in the form of a lack of response or increased missile testing,” the US Secretary of State said.
Blinken warned that Americans would not sit idly by.
“We are in very close contact with our allies and close partners, particularly the Republic of Korea, Japan and others, in order to be able to respond quickly,” he warned.
According to the South Korean minister, this reaction will come with a new UN Security Council resolution, new “international sanctions” and more “isolation”, an option that has always met resistance from Russia and China, who have veto power.
He discussed with his US counterpart “concrete ways to correct the flaws in the implementation of existing sanctions”, preventing them from being circumvented.
Blinken said it will continue to “maintain the pressure”, focusing specifically on those that help Pyongyang avoid punitive measures.
“We are preparing for all scenarios and are ready to adjust our military position in the short and long term if necessary,” he said, adding to the economic isolation.
Seoul and Washington also spoke in favor of “enhanced deterrence,” in which the United States agreed to militarily prevent the North from attacking the South.
Park Jin urged China, which remains a main supporter of North Korea but opposes its nuclear program, to “play a very positive role” in persuading North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “to make the right decision”.
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source: Noticias
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