The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday urged Russia and China to reconsider their economic ties to the North Korean regime during a heated speech before the United Nations Security Council.
Tillerson called out Beijing for continuing to allow crude oil to “flow” into repressive state, adding that such ongoing trade ties between the two countries undermined international efforts to get the North to denuclearize.
The US’ top diplomat also accused Russia of propping up the repressive regime of Kim Jong-Un by using North Korean laborers. Continuing to allow North Korean nationals to toil in “slave-like conditions” for wages used to fund nuclear weapons “calls into question Russia’s dedication as a partner for peace,” Tillerson said.
His outburst suggested that the sanctions imposed on Pyongyang by the UN were not doing enough to convince the Kim regime to halt its nuclear weapons program or seek negotiations, and that more economic restrictions imposed by individual states were needed.
Tillerson also called on countries that have not implemented sanctions to “consider your interests, allegiances and values in the face of this grave threat.”
US backtracks on its offer for unconditional talks
Tillerson was expected on Firday to call on the rogue regime to halt its missile tests before talks could begin. Instead, he changed the script, telling an audience of foreign ministers that “North Korea must earn its way back to the table.”
ICBM threat and North Korea’s overall military strength
Major achievement
In early June 2017, North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time. Testing an ICBM marked a major military achievement for Pyongyang and a serious escalation of tensions with the United States and its allies in the region, particularly South Korea and Japan.
ICBM threat and North Korea’s overall military strength
Trouble with warheads
At the time, defense experts said the ICBM could reach as far as the US states of Alaska and Hawaii. However, it was unclear if North Korea can field an ICBM capable of carrying a nuclear warhead on its cone that could survive reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere. North Korean state media claimed the ICBM was capable of carrying a “large, heavy nuclear warhead” to any part of the United States.
ICBM threat and North Korea’s overall military strength
Pyongyang’s nuclear tests – six times and counting
The ICBM is believed to be a step forward in the North’s nuclear program. Despite pressure from the international community, Pyongyang has made no secret of its nuclear ambitions. Alongside its ritual ballistic missile tests, North Korea has conducted nuclear tests on at least six occasions, including one in September 2017.
ICBM threat and North Korea’s overall military strength
US running out of patience?
Responding to the first ICBM test with a show of force, the US and South Korean troops on conducted “deep strike” precision missile drills using Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and the Republic of Korea’s Hyunmoo Missile II. In April, the US sent its Carl Vinson aircraft carrier towards the Korean Peninsula, saying it was taking prudent measures against the North.
ICBM threat and North Korea’s overall military strength
Testing the boundaries
Ignoring international condemnation, Pyongyang test-launched another rocket on July 28, 2017, just weeks after its first ICBM test. In both of the tests, North Korea used Hwasong-14 missile, but the second one reached a higher altitude and traveled a larger distance than the first one, according to the state media.
ICBM threat and North Korea’s overall military strength
Whole of US within range?
Pyongyang conducted its third test November 29, using a newly developed Hwasong-15 missile. US, Japanese and South Korean officials said it rose to about 4,500 km (2,800 miles) and flew 960 kilometers (600 miles) over about 50 minutes before landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone off the country’s coast.
ICBM threat and North Korea’s overall military strength
One of the world’s largest militaries
Apart from a developing missile and nuclear program, North Korea has a powerful army with 700,000 active troops and another 4.5 million in the reserves. It can call upon almost a quarter of its population to serve in the army at any given time. The North’s bloated army is believed to outnumber its southern neighbor’s by two-to-one.
ICBM threat and North Korea’s overall military strength
Vast capabilities
According to the 2017 Global Firepower Index, the North has, as part of a far-reaching arsenal, 458 fighter aircraft, 5,025 combat tanks, 76 submarines, and 5,200,000 total military personnel. The picture above from 2013 shows leader Kim Jong Un ordering strategic rocket forces to be on standby to strike US and South Korean targets at any time.
ICBM threat and North Korea’s overall military strength
Enemies all around
Alongside the United States, Pyongyang views its neighbors South Korea and Japan as its two other main enemies. North Korea has used US military exercises in the region as means of galvanizing its people, claiming that the exercises are dress rehearsals for an impending invasion.
ICBM threat and North Korea’s overall military strength
Huge, colorful demonstrations of military might
Every year, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and citizens roll through the streets of the capital Pyongyang to take part in the North’s military parades. Preparations for the rallies often begin months in advance, and the parades usually mark important anniversaries linked with the Communist Party or Kim Jong Un’s family.
“The pressure campaign must and will continue until denuclearization is achieved. We will in the meantime keep our channels of communication open,” Tillerson said.
The isolated nation has conducted six increasingly powerful atomic tests since 2006 — most recently in September when it supposedly detonated a hydrogen bomb.
Since the beginning of 2017, Pyongyang had conducted missiles tests at a rate of almost two to three per month, but paused in September after it successfully fired a missile over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and into the Pacific Ocean. At the end of November it then suddenly tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile that experts say can fly over 13,000 kilometers.
Japan levies new sanctions on North Korea ahead of UN meeting
Japan announced on Friday that it is expanding its list of sanctions against North Korea, targeting financial services and commodities trading. The list of organizations and people targeted by asset-freezes now includes over 200 entities and individuals, including several from China.
Tokyo’s new measures also target the highly controversial practice of sending North Koreans abroad to work on manual labor projects.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in an address to media executives in Tokyo that he was certain the sanctions were having an effect.
“It is possible that we will see further provocations. But what’s important is that we do not bow to these threats. The international community must continue to coordinate and apply pressure until North Korea changes its policies and seeks negotiations,” Abe said.
