U.S., Japan leaders condemn N. Korea's missile launch

The latest missile test by the North may be conducted to send a strong message to the
U.S. and Japan as Trump and Abe holding a summit.
While it's not uncommon for Pyongyang to carry out such acts during this time of the year,
Seoul's top nuke envoy and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts did immediately discuss appropriate
response measures.
Hwang Hojun turned to some experts to help break down the motive behind the provocation.
There are several possible reasons why the regime chose to launch a missile on Sunday.
For one, its has a history of using provocations to mark key anniversaries, such as the birthday
of its late leader Kim Jong-il, coming up in a few days.
Its third nuclear test came on exactly three years ago.
But experts say North Korea may have seen an extra excuse to lash out... given the state
of geopolitics,... and a key diplomatic summit that took place this weekend.
"As you know, the U.S. has Donald Trump as its new president.
China and the U.S. are butting heads.
Russia is a loose cannon...
And the US-Japan summit is taking place as we speak.
Pyongyang's missile launch is a message about all of those things."
The missile was launched a day after President Trump confirmed America's commitment to the
security of Japan during the summit meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, with Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe.
In a joint press conference with President Trump, the Japanese leader condemned North
Korea's actions.
"North Korea's most recent missile launch is absolutely intolerable.
North Korea must fully comply with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions"
"Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister.
I just want everybody to understand and fully know that the United States stands behind
Japan, it's great ally, 100 percent.
Thank you."
Meanwhile, South Korea's representative to the six-party nuclear talks, Kim Hong-kyun,
held separate telephone talks with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Joseph Yun and
Kenji Kanasugi, respectively, and discussed ways to deal with the latest provocation.
According to Seoul's foreign ministry, the three nuclear envoys agreed to work closely
together to craft a coordinated response based on the understanding that a strong response
is needed given that Sunday's missile launch was Pyongyang's first provocation this year.
Hwang Hojun, Arirang News.

U.S., Japan leaders condemn N. Korea's missile launch

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