Russia And China Condemn N. Korea's New Missile Launch

China has condemned North Korea's test of a reportedly new missile more than 24 hours after news of the launch broke.
The country's Foreign Ministry said that North Korea's launch activities were in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.


"Under current circumstances, relevant sides should not provoke each other or take actions that would escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing Monday.
Russia's Foreign Ministry also spoke out against the test, the first since US President Donald Trump's inauguration, saying in a statement that it was in "defiant disregard" of UN resolutions.

Russia and China were both members of the Six Party Talks -- a diplomatic attempt to curb North Korea's nuclear program that started in 2003 -- along with the United States, Japan, and North and South Korea.The missile North Korea fired was the Pukguksong-2, a previously unpublicized part of its arsenal, according to state media. It's a nuclear-capable, intermediate range ballistic missile -- which typically travel from 3,000 to 5,500 kilometers (1,864 to 3,417 miles).

The Pukguksong-2 is believed to have used a solid-fuel propelled engine which enables faster launch and increases the mobility of the launch process, according to a spokesman of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman.

The Joint Chiefs also believe that Pyongyang employed a cold-launching system, in which the missile is lifted off the ground using pressure and then ignited mid-flight, as opposed to igniting it on the ground -- which is said to be less stable, the spokesman said.
A US official said the missile traveled 500 kilometers (310 miles) before landing in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, and that it was launched from North Pyongan province.

This photo from North Korean state media shows the firing of the Pukguksong-2 on Sunday. The split image appears to show the cold-launching system in effect.
This photo from North Korean state media shows the firing of the Pukguksong-2 on Sunday. The split image appears to show the cold-launching system in effect.

A rocky relationship

North Korea's relationship with China -- its most important ally -- has kept Pyongyang afloat as sanctions have crippled and isolated it from the rest of the world.
But in recent years, China has taken a tougher line on the North Korean nuclear program, voting in favor of UN Security Council sanctions and issuing condemnations when it conducts provocative military tests.

China usually responds to North Korea's nuclear tests with a quick condemnation, but when it comes to missile tests, it depends on the type of missile and how the test was conducted, says Tong Zhao, an associate at the Carnegie Tsinghua Center for Global Policy.

"China might not interpret it (the Sunday test) as a provocation, but a call for attention," Zhao told CNN. "Clearly North Korea has been waiting for this new administration to reach out to North Korea."

CNN