By Yahoo News,
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — The Latest on tensions on the Korean Peninsula (all times local):
1:05 p.m.
A ruling Chinese Communist Party newspaper is warning North Korea against conducting another nuclear test, saying that would likely propel events past the “point of no return.”
In an editorial Tuesday, the Global Times says the previous day’s phone conversation between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping of China showed the two countries were in close communication over the tensions.
It says China hopes for a peaceful outcome, but that Beijing has “very limited influence on the entire situation.”
It says: “The game of chicken between Washington and Pyongyang has come to a breaking point.” The paper is known for its often stridently nationalistic views.
It says if North Korea carries out a sixth nuclear test as expected, “it is more likely than ever that the situation will cross the point of no return. All stakeholders will bear the consequences, with Pyongyang sure to suffer the greatest losses.”
As a traditional ally and North Korea’s chief source of trade, food and fuel aid, China has come under intense pressure to use its influence to dissuade Pyongyang from additional nuclear tests and missile launches.
However, Beijing is intensely wary of any measures that might cause the collapse of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s hard-line communist regime, fearing that could lead to a wave of refugees and a Pyongyang government beholden to Washington and Seoul.
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1 p.m.
U.S. envoy for North Korea Joseph Yun says he and his counterparts from Japan and South Korea agreed to coordinate “all actions” on North Korea.
The three envoys also agreed that China has a key role in pressuring North Korea to abandon its missile and nuclear programs.
Yun told reporters after a meeting in Tokyo that all diplomatic, military and economic actions on North Korea will be coordinated among the allies.
Yun says China especially has “a very, very important role” to play. He says U.N. Security Council resolutions and sanctions on Pyongyang must be fully implemented.
He says: “There are a number of countries who could be more proactive” in implementing the sanctions. He did not identify the countries.
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12:40 p.m.
South Korean newspapers are questioning whether President Donald Trump is tuning out South Korea as he shapes his North Korea strategy.
Trump skipped calling Seoul during his phone conversations with his counterparts in Beijing and Tokyo on Sunday over the growing threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles program.
The Maeil Business Daily said Tuesday that Trump not calling South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, the country’s acting leader, showed that the relations between the allies are “not normal.”
The newspaper also mentioned that Washington has yet to name its new ambassador to Seoul three months after the departure of Mark Lippert and questioned whether Trump has “entirely left out South Korea in his picture for the Korean Peninsula.”
The JoongAng Ilbo daily said in an editorial that South Korea shouldn’t be excluded from critical discussions surrounding North Korea, because “the destiny of our nation could be at stake.”
Seoul has long worried about losing its voice in international efforts to deal with North Korea’s nuclear threat — something local media have termed “Korea Passing.”
Maeil Business wrote: “When a military clash happens in the Korean Peninsula, South Korea will be the first target of North Korea and its military will hold joint operations with U.S. troops to fight back. … If there is a partner Trump needs to discuss with foremost over the North Korea problem, it’s not Xi Jinping or Shinzo Abe, but the leader of South Korea.”
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11:55 a.m.
South Korea says a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine has docked in the southern port of Busan, but it isn’t expected to participate in joint naval exercises with South Korea.
An official from South Korea’s navy said Tuesday the USS Michigan is making a routine stop to rest its crews and reload supplies. The submarine arrived on the same day North Korea celebrates the anniversary of the founding of its military.
North Korea often marks significant dates with show of military capability, and South Korean officials have said the North could be preparing another round of nuclear or missile tests around the anniversary.
President Donald Trump has dispatched to the region what he called an “armada” of ships, including an aircraft carrier, in a show of force. South Korea’s navy is planning to hold joint naval drills with U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson battle group, which has trained with Japanese destroyers in recent days, around the weekend.
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11:15 a.m.
Envoys from Japan, the U.S. and South Korea have gathered in Tokyo to discuss North Korea amid concern it may carry out another nuclear or missile test.
Japanese officials say U.S. representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun met Tuesday with his Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi and Kim Hong-kyun of South Korea to share their latest analyses and discuss cooperation.
There is speculation that North Korea may carry out another nuclear or missile test to mark the anniversary of its armed forces Tuesday. It launched a missile one day after the 105th birthday of late founder Kim Il Sung on April 15.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the three envoys were to deepen cooperation and stay on the same page amid growing tension.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry also announced that China’s envoy for North Korea, Wu Dawei, will visit Tokyo later Tuesday for talks with Kanasugi.
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11:10 a.m.
North Korea’s capital is quiet on Tuesday amid expectations of some sort of a big event to mark the anniversary of the founding of the country’s military.
The morning came and went without any nuclear tests or ballistic missile launches and all that is publicly scheduled for the day are gatherings for mass dancing, a common celebratory feature of major North Korean holidays.
The main political event to mark the anniversary apparently was a “national meeting” held the day before, when thousands of senior military and civilian officials gathered at the People’s Palace of Culture in Pyongyang.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un did not attend. It was not known how he is marking Tuesday’s anniversary.
At the meeting, army Gen. Pak Yong Sik, North Korea’s minister of defense, reiterated Pyongyang’s claim that the country is ready to use pre-emptive strikes or any other measures it deems necessary to defend itself against the “U.S. imperialists.”
He told the gathering: “The situation prevailing on the Korean Peninsula is so tense that a nuclear war may break out due to the frantic war drills of the U.S. imperialists and their vassal forces for aggression.”
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