North Korea continues to register its outrage at a UN embargo over its nuclear weapons programme, as leader Kim Jong-un inspected a new multiple rocket launcher one day after the country fired five missiles into its eastern waters.
The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) hailed the "perfect accuracy" of the large-calibre missile launch system and lavished praised on the officials and technicians involved in the rocket launcher. The launch was "the final test-fire" of its multiple rocket system ahead of its deployment for actual combat, KCNA said.
The rocket launchers would boost “the capability of the Korean People’s Army to mount a precision attack on the enemies’ targets in the operational theatre in the southern part of Korea,” the news agency said.
On Monday, North Korea fired five short-range missiles, into waters off its east coast, its latest action to register its anger at ongoing joint military drills between South Korea and the United States.
"North Korea has been continuing tests of it as part of performance upgrade efforts," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Jeon Ha-kyu said on Monday.
Last week, the North said it planned to conduct nuclear warhead and ballistic missile tests "in a short time," despite the UN Security Council sanctions. This would be the North's fifth nuclear test since 2006, following the fourth one in January.
Military experts believe that Pyongyang will keep trying to provoke the South and the US, with the high point coming sometime between April 30th and May 7th.
Seoul and Washington's largest military drills ever will end at the end of next month, while the North is scheduled to hold its ruling party congress in early May.
North Korea's only meaningful ally and chief trade partner China warned Pyongyang not to violate the United Nations resolutions after the country fired the salvo into the sea on Monday.
“China is very concerned about the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
"We hope the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) refrain from things that violate the UN resolutions," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular news briefing.
However, in a sign of how Beijing is trying to juggle its needs to keep US pressure at bay while keeping the North's economy from collapse, China succeeded in having four ships blacklisted under the UN sanctions reinstated for trade.
The agreement came after China secured assurances the vessels would not use North Korean crews. The ships were mistakenly thought to be part of the country’s arms trade.
A cable between Chinese and US embassy, seen by the Reuters news agency, showed top diplomats from the two countries horse-trading over the sanctions on North Korea, shortly after Washington had presented a united front with Beijing.
