U.S. and South Korea sought to punish North Korea for its launch of a long-range rocket, pushing for harsher sanctions against Pyongyang and the possible deployment of a missile defense system.
Within hours of North Korea announcing it had successfully fired its “Kwangmyongsong” (shining star) satellite into orbit on Sunday morning, the U.S. and South Korea said they would consider deployment of the Thaad ballistic missile defense system on South Korean soil. Both governments called for more sanctions against the regime in Pyongyang, with the United Nations Security Council set to hold an emergency meeting on North Korea at 11 a.m. in New York.
The rocket launch, which came a month after North Korea defied the international community by holding its fourth nuclear test, underscores the limited impact that U.S. pressure and a decade of UN sanctions have had on curbing Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions. The Obama administration’s push for tougher punishment from the UN has run into resistance from China, which is concerned the Lockheed Martin Corp.-manufactured Thaad system could be used against its missiles.
In their joint statement, the U.S. and South Korea said that if Thaad were deployed, it would only be used to target North Korea.
"South Korea getting Thaad would send a message to China that it has to control North Korea," said Tsuneo Watanabe, a senior fellow at the Tokyo Foundation.
China joined in condemning the rocket launch, though a commentary in the official Xinhua news agency said that more sanctions would not help bring North Korea to heel. Beijing has repeatedly rejected tough sanctions such as banning energy exports that could destabilize North Korea and trigger a flood of refugees across the countries’ shared border.
Nuclear Program
North Korea insists its rocket firings are for peaceful scientific purposes, while the U.S. views them as tests of ballistic missile technology that could eventually be used to carry nuclear weapons to U.S. shores. The U.S. has said that it won’t accept North Korea as a nuclear power, while Pyongyang insists that its nuclear program is the best deterrent against a U.S. invasion.
"The fascinating vapor of Juche satellite trailing in the clear and blue sky in spring of February" is a gift from the nation’s scientists to Kim, the party and the people, the official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday in announcing the launch.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the rocket firing “a flagrant violation” of UN resolutions against missile tests, while South Korean President Park Geun Hye said the launch was an “unacceptable provocation.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said her nation "regrets" the use of ballistic missile technology to conduct the launch, while urging a "calm" response.
The U.S. would work with security council members to develop “significant measures” to hold North Korea accountable, Kerry said in a statement. “Now is the time to do so in a firm and united way, with measures that make clear the determination of the international community to address the pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities by” North Korea.
International Pressure
"Pressure from the international society will probably tighten on North Korea,” Cheong Seong Chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute near Seoul, said in a text message after the launch. "China is expected to consider stronger economic measures than it has previously, but it’s not very likely it will cooperate for the kind of highly strong sanctions demanded by South Korea and the U.S.”
The U.S. has pushed China to do more to rein in its ally, with Kerry saying last month that China’s North Korea policy has been a failure. But the rocket launch also illustrates the limits of China’s leverage with Kim. The regime has ignored China’s repeated calls to stop developing nuclear arms and North Korea announced the rocket-launch plan in early February while China’s nuclear envoy was in Pyongyang for talks on North Korea’s weapons program.
Missile Range
North Korea is developing a missile called Taepodong-2 with a range of 10,000 kilometers (about 6,200 miles), according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry. That would leave the West Coast of the U.S. within the missile’s range. Questions remain as to whether North Korea has the technical capability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead and to ensure its missiles could endure the stress of space flight and hit intended targets precisely.
“The next technological step to developing a missile system will likely be to prove that its space launch vehicles are capable of carrying a re-entry vehicle capable of re-entering the atmosphere,” Alison Evans, an IHS Country Risk senior analyst, said before the launch. “This would give a strong indication that North Korea is capable of producing warheads for an intercontinental ballistic missile which could reach the United States.”
The test on Sunday follows a pattern of conducting long- range rocket launches around the time of nuclear tests. North Korea fired a long-range rocket before each of its previous three atomic tests, all of which resulted in a tightening of international sanctions.
North Korea put its first satellite into space in 2012 and has since upgraded its launch site on the nation’s northwest coast about 50 kilometers from the Chinese border to accommodate larger rockets. The nation’s claim the following year that it is capable of building a nuclear missile that can reach the U.S. has been met with skepticism. Even so, officials in Seoul have said the regime has made significant strides toward developing such weapons.