The commander of American troops in South Korea has warned Pyongyang his forces are prepared for war, escalating tensions on the peninsula at the same time that North Korea has claimed its new long-range missile can carry a “large nuclear warhead”.
The stark statement from Gen Vincent Brooks came as part of a joint US-South Korean missile exercise off the country’s east coast, conducted just hours after both Washington and Seoul confirmed North Korean claims that it had successfully tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
“Self-restraint, which is a choice, is all that separates armistice and war,” said Gen Brooks after the joint exercise on Wednesday morning, during which a barrage of “precision strike” missiles was fired. “As this alliance missile live-fire shows, we are able to change our choice when so ordered by our alliance national leaders.”
The escalating tensions between Pyongyang and Washington run counter to calls by Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, and Xi Jinping, China’s president and North Korea’s most important international ally, for both sides to show restraint. They also risk sparking a deeper confrontation in a region on edge because of bellicose rhetoric from US president Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader.
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‘American bastards’
North Korea trumpeted its ICBM launch on state media, quoting Mr Kim as saying it was a “gift” for “the American bastards” on their Independence Day holiday and was “capable of carrying [a] large-sized heavy nuclear warhead”. Analysts believe the rocket could reach Alaska if fired on a standard trajectory.
The stand-off has come as Mr Trump and Mr Xi are due to meet at a Group of 20 summit in Germany, which starts on Friday. The White House has tried to pressurise Beijing to use its influence with Pyongyang to shut down its nuclear and missile programmes.
But Mr Trump acknowledged the effort had failed on Wednesday, writing on Twitter that links between the two Asian countries had increased in recent months. “Trade between China and North Korea grew almost 40 per cent in the first quarter,” he wrote. “So much for China working with us – but we had to give it a try!”
Rex Tillerson, US secretary of state, vowed “stronger measures” to punish Pyongyang in the UN Security Council, which was to hold an emergency session at American request later on Wednesday .
There were signs that US allies in the region were joining the Trump administration’s more confrontational stance. Moon Jae-in, who since being elected South Korea’s president in May has tried to engage with Pyongyang, said the missile test warranted a response that was “more than just a statement”.
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, said: “I’ll keep strongly raising the necessity for international society to tackle this in close co-operation. Starting with the US, China, Russia and South Korea, I want to proceed in close co-operation with the world’s leaders.”
The US and its allies are restricted when it comes to military options to counter Pyongyang, which has hundreds of artillery pieces and rocket launchers within range of Seoul, home to 10 million civilians and a large contingent of US forces in the region. Along with conventional munitions, North Korea has a stockpile of chemical weapons, largely sarin and VX nerve agent, that are loaded in artillery shells and rockets.
In a report this year for the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Reid Kirby, a military historian, wrote: "North Korea's capacity to inflict mass chemical casualties on the Seoul area in a 'sea of sarin' attack rivals its capacity for nuclear destruction."
Sceptical of claims
North Korea regularly overstates its military capabilities and the US and its regional allies normally treat its claims with caution. Although the US and South Korea confirmed the missile had the capability of flying at least 5,000km, they were more sceptical of claims it could carry a nuclear warhead.
Han Min-koo, South Korea’s defence minister, poured cold water on the ICBM’s technical capabilities. Yet consensus is growing among analysts that North Korea’s missiles are developing more rapidly than expected.
Pyongyang detonated two nuclear devices last year and expectations are widespread of another test – the nation’s sixth – imminently. “North Korea’s eventual goal is to weaponise its nuclear power, so I see a high chance that will happen,” Mr Han told a parliamentary briefing on Wednesday.
Mr Tillerson said that, while the US remains committed to a “peaceful denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”, the Trump administration would “never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea”.
He also warned countries assisting Pyongyang they were at risk of violating UN Security Council sanctions, in an apparent reference to China. “Any country that hosts North Korean guest workers, provides any economic or military benefits, or fails to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions is aiding and abetting a dangerous regime,” Mr Tillerson said.
Seoul publicised video footage on Wednesday of a fighter jet launching a long-range, guided Taurus missile in an apparent display of how it would attack the North Korean regime. South Korea recently purchased 170 of the bunker-busting missiles from Germany.
“We made public the footage to show our resolve to destroy the leadership of the North Korean regime if it threatens the people of South Korea and the US with its nuclear weapons and missiles,” a military official said. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017