Nuclear Test: North Korea remains defiant even as US submarine makes port call in Busan

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley (L) and China's Ambassador to the UN Liu Jieyi (2R) listens while US President Donald Trump (2L) speaks before a working lunch with UN Security Council member nations in the State Dining Room of the White House. Picture: AFP

A nuclear-powered US submarine has made a port call in South Korea in a show of force amid concerns that North Korea may mark the foundation of its military with a missile launch or a nuclear test, defying US and Chinese pressure. The port call by the USS Michigan came as a US aircraft carrier strike group steams for Korean waters and as the top nuclear envoys from South Korea, Japan, and the US were to meet in Tokyo to discuss the North’s refusal to give up its nuclear program.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshide Suga, told a media briefing that China’s nuclear envoy, Wu Dawei, would also hold talks with Japanese Foreign Ministry officials on Tuesday. A ministry source said Wu was likely to meet his Japanese nuclear counterpart on Wednesday.

Matching the flurry of diplomatic and military activity in North Asia, the State Department in Washington said that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would chair a special ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council on North Korea on Friday.

Tillerson, along with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Joint Chiefs chairman General Joseph Dunford, would also hold a rare briefing for the entire US Senate on North Korea on Wednesday, Senate aides said.

The entire US Senate has been invited to the White House for a briefing on the escalating situation with North Korea.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says the briefing will be delivered by four top administration officials: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford. The Trump administration has escalated its rhetoric against North Korea and has been pressuring China to lean on the country to cease its missile testing.

Mr Trump’s UN ambassador Nikki Haley said that the United States could strike North Korea if North Korea attacks a US military base or tests an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Mr Spicer said the White House was playing host but not organizing the briefing.

Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged US. President Donald Trump to exercise restraint over North Korea and said he opposed any action that would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The two leaders spoke by phone amid escalating tensions over North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile programs — their second phone discussion on the issue in the past two weeks following their Florida summit earlier in April.

The conversations came a day before the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People’s Army, when experts say Pyongyang may launch a sixth nuclear test, amid signs it has been preparing for one. Sunday, it emerged that North Korea had arrested a US citizen in Pyongyang, adding another potential flashpoint with the U.S. at a time of increasingly heated rhetoric.

Mr Trump also spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who said afterward that the American leader “has indicated by his words and actions that all possible options are on the table.”

Mr Xi said all parties should avoid further ratcheting up tensions on the peninsula, state media said, adding that the two pledged to stay in regular touch.

The White House issued short statements about the calls Monday, hours after Chinese and Japanese officials commented. Officials said Mr Trump and Mr Xi discussed North Korea’s “continued belligerence.”

”The two leaders reaffirmed the urgency of the threat posed by North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs and committed to strengthen coordination in achieving the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,” the White House said.

The White House provided no detail about specific issues discussed with Mr Abe.

Mr Trump and top US officials have threatened to use unspecified military force against North Korea, and a US aircraft carrier finally is en route to the Korean Peninsula after its deployment was announced prematurely by White House and Pentagon officials.

Tensions between the US and North Korea have risen since Mr. Trump indicated he will discard the Obama administration’s policy of “strategic patience” and strike a more aggressive posture toward Pyongyang. The U.S. leader has vowed to take unilateral action to blunt North Korea’s nuclear threat if China doesn’t restrain its ally.

In South Korea last week, US Vice President Mike Pence warned that recent American military strikes in Syria and Afghanistan showed that Pyongyang should refrain from testing American resolve or armed forces in the region.

The US Navy, meanwhile, said Sunday that the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier began conducting exercises with the Japanese navy in the Philippine Sea, messaging a warning to North Korea.

North Korea’s state news agency said “it would be a fatal mistake of the U.S. to think it can browbeat [North Korea] with such nuclear carrier.”

Pyongyang doesn’t appear to be slowing down its programs in response. North Korea also fired another missile April 16, which blew up on takeoff.

Over the weekend, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said there were enough displays of force and confrontation on the issue and called for “peaceful and rational voices,” according to state-controlled news agency Xinhua.

Mr Abe on Monday also appeared concerned over the current security environment.

“The issues of North Korea’s nuclear program and missiles are not only a concern to the international community but also an extremely serious threat to Japan’s security,” he said.

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