Saturday, July 8, 2017

North Korea news LIVE: Latest as US bombers fly over Korean Peninsula in show of power

4.18pm BST: President Xi Jinping told Donald Trump that stronger relations between China and the US are good for stability in a complex world, Xinhua News Agency quoted Mr Xi.

3.31pm BST: Mr Trump said that is is going to take time reining in North Korea’s nuclear programme, but he was confident that Washington and Beijing could reach a problem solving conclusion.

The US president who has urged his Chinese counterpart to pressure the hermit state with economic leverage, said he appreciated what President Xi Jingping has done.

"I appreciate the things that you have done relative to the very substantial problem that we all face in North Korea, a problem that something has to be done about," Mr Trump told Mr Xi.

"It may take longer than I'd like, it may take longer than you'd like, he added. But there will be success in the end one way or the other."

2.29pm BST: Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe found the time at the G20 summit to discuss North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

As I look at the current situation, particularly the security environment in the Asia Pacific region including North Korea, we believe that it has become increasingly severe, Mr Abe told Mr Trump.

12.50pm BST: A North Korean defector has revealed to ABC News the daily struggles of life outside the borders of the hermit state.

The man who for the purposes of the interview went by the name of Lee Sang-jun, said he was a North Korean "nowhere man.

"I couldn't believe I'd arrived in this unbelievably perfect place where freedom and happiness were guaranteed," he said.

"I didn't quite understand what freedom meant so I did whatever I wanted.” 9.27am BST: The US and South Korea carried out a live fire drill over the Korean peninsula with deadly supersonic jets and bombers.

A pair of B-1B Lancer strategic bombers were launched from a US airbase in Guam and joined Korean Koku Jieitai JASDF F-2 fighters over the East China Sea.

The deadly planes conducted a simulated destruction of underground ballistic missile launchers, sending a clear message to North Korea.

5.45am BST: The US will test their state of the art interceptor defence system against an intermediate–range ballistic missile amid heightened tensions with North Korea, reports reveal.

It will be the first operational test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system to defend against a simulated attack, following Kim Jong–un’s claim that Pyongyang has successfully developed a devastating missile.

The interceptor will be fired from Alaska and will take place “in the coming days.North Korea has been continuing to test America’s patience since it began carrying out several missile tests earlier this year.

The US under Donald Trump’s administration has been mounting increased efforts to resolve the situation through trade sanctions with China’s help, but Mr Trump was adamant to send an “armada” of US warships to the region.

With Pyongyang continuing to flout United Nations’ resolutions and international condemnation, the state of affairs in the region is looking dire.

On Tuesday June 4, Kim Jong-un carried out his latest ICBM test which the hermit state claimed was capable of reaching mainland US.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has now warned that not many good options were left on the table if pressure measures fail to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.

The world is now looking towards the US and China to find a peaceful resolution to the tension, before the verbal conflict escalates beyond repair. 

Fariha Taj

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