(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Heung-kyeong Park, Ambassador of South Korea to Qatar said yesterday that North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programme had become one of the most complicated threat to the region and beyond.
Speaking at a round table discussion on 'The Situation of The Korean Peninsula, he said that North Korea has a long history of military and terrorist attacks against South Korea since its full invasion into South Korea in 1950.
'Recently, we can see two positive signs in relation to North Korea. Firstly, North Korea did not commit further provocations for two months until now. Secondly, Korean Government and international community are making more concerted efforts to force North Korea to move into the right direction, the ambassador said.
In a round table discussion, SHIN Beomchul, Professor at Korea National Diplomatic Academy said that North Korea's attempt to prove its ICBM capability turned out as failure when the re-entry vehicle of Hwasung 14 had broken down to three pieces and burnt out. He said that the geopolitical landscape in the northeast Asia today can be explained by two stories: the competition between the US and China, and North Korea's nuclear development.
'The origin of the US-Sino strategic competition dates back to the era of Korean War. China's intervention in the War resulted in the armistice agreement, and many people have claimed that the US and China respectively accepted the divided sphere of influence on the Southern and Northern part of the Korean Peninsula.
SHIN said since then, the US and China have accumulated practices to make a compromise and not to cross a red-line in major security issues. 'The US has recognized China's special tie with the North and demanded China's more active role to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.
He said that after the inauguration, the Trump Administration has put unprecedented pressures on China. 'The US has already imposed retaliatory tariffs on the Chinese steel products and sent repeated signals to use the ‘Secondary Boycott' if China does not cooperate on the North Korea's nuke issue.
On the other hand, he said, North Korea has made all out efforts to finalize its nuclear capabilities including hydrogen bomb and ICBM. 'However, more than 12 missile tests and one nuclear test of this year are not yet sufficient to prove that the regime has full nuclear capability to strike the US territory with its hydrogen nuclear weapon.
SHIN said that the North's attempt to prove its ICBM capability turned out as failure when the re-entry vehicle of Hwasung 14 had broken down to three pieces and burnt out. 'This means that the North cannot but to make another strategic provocation to test Hwasung 14 in an appropriate time for its regime.
He said that for solving the North Korea's nuclear challenges, the ROK government, Moon administration, makes sincere and prudent efforts. 'While the administration tries to build strong international sanction on North Korea, it also emphasizes peaceful solution. In this regard, he said, the cooperation between the US and China is important matter again.
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