China, Russia must send ‘strong message’ to North Korea over ICBM testing: US

The United States urged China and Russia to send a “strong message” to North Korea after it resumed intercontinental ballistic missile testing.

On Friday, the Kim Jong Un regime announced launching a big, new ICBM, which is capable of reaching the US mainland. The leader of the reclusive country supervised the testing.

Kim said that the test was designed to demonstrate the might of its nuclear force and deter any US military moves around the country. The nuclear-armed country’s last full ICBM test was in 2017.

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“China and Russia should send a strong message to (North Korea) to refrain from additional provocations,” US State Department spokesperson Jalina Porter said on Friday.

Porter called the missile launch a “brazen” violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

“We urge all countries to hold the DPRK accountable for such violations and we also call on the DPRK to come to the table for serious negotiations,” she said, adding that it was unclear what position China and Russia might take at the Security Council over North Korea’s latest provocative actions.

“We are in the early stages of consulting on this issue. There have been developments that should be of concern to all countries, particularly those who share a border with the DPRK. The DPRK’s decision to return to ICBM tests is a clear escalation,” Porter said.

Meanwhile, China and Russia said that they are coordinating closely the activity in the Korean Peninsula.

“Concern was expressed over the latest developments in the sub-region” at the meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and China’s representative on the Korean Peninsula, Liu Xiaoming, Russia’s foreign ministry was quoted as saying by RIA.

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The ministry also said that efforts will be made to find fair political and diplomatic solutions to the problems.

A day after North Korea test-fired the ICBM, the state-run television released an edited video showing Kim guiding the launch. The North Korean government on Friday released pictures showing Kim celebrating as the missile took off.

In the video, Kim is seen walking out of the hanger of the ICBM flanked by his senior ranking military officers as he guides the launch. Some other images released Friday show the leader walking around the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on the launcher, at an undisclosed location.