The US President has dined with South Korea's Moon Jae-In and Japan's Shinzo Abe on the eve of the G20 summit. On the menu: North Korea's missile program and securing Beijing's cooperation in solving the crisis.
Image: Reuters/C. Barria
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North Korea's recent ballistic missile tests already dominated the Group of 20 (G20) talks in Hamburg on Thursday, a day before the summit even officially begins.
US President Donald Trump dined with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the eve the G20 summit, where the three sides agreed to push China to play a greater role in reining in Pyongyang.
"We had very vivid conversation on the subject and the role of China was very important," Norio Maruyama, Japanese foreign ministry spokesman, said after the meeting. "North Korea now constitutes a new level of threat to Japan and a clear provocation to Japan and also to the international community."
US warns China over North Korea
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While North Korea has effectively kept the world on edge in recent months by carrying out a series of missile tests, it was its first successful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test on Tuesday that marked a major milestone in its weapons program. The North's leader, Kim Jong Un, described it as the first of many "gifts" aimed at the US.
During a visit to Warsaw earlier on Thursday, Trump suggested that he was considering a "pretty sever" response to Pyongyang's latest act of aggression.
Asked whether any potential military action was discussed, Maruyama said that "there is no discussion about the specificity of other measures we could take."
Hope for Chinese intervention
The dinner between the three parties came just after Moon held talks Chinese President Xi Jingping, where both sides reportedly backed a UN Security Council resolution to impose tougher sanctions against North Korea.
As effectively its only ally, China finds itself under increasing pressure to deal with the reclusive state. While Beijing has backed calls for fresh sanctions, many world leaders – above all, Donald Trump – have called on it to do more dealing with the crisis.
Trump has openly questions China's commitment to dealing with the North, noting on Wednesday the two nations' expanding trade relationship.
However, on Thursday the US president indicated he was still hopeful that China would contribute to resolving the crisis, telling reporters he would "never give up" pushing Xi to act.
In the meantime, however, Chinese officials have urged all sides to tone down their language. "We also call on relevant parties to stay calm, exercise restraint, refrain from words and deeds that may heighten tensions," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters on Thursday.
ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength
For years, the international community downplayed the threat of North Korea's military power. With the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, it is clear that Pyongyang's military capabilities are growing.
Image: Gettty Images/AFP/E. Jones
Major achievement
In early June 2017, North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time. Testing an ICBM marked a major military achievement for Pyongyang and a serious escalation of tensions with the United States and its allies in the region, particularly South Korea and Japan.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
Trouble with warheads
At the time, defense experts said the ICBM could reach as far as the US states of Alaska and Hawaii. However, it was unclear if North Korea can field an ICBM capable of carrying a nuclear warhead on its cone that could survive reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. North Korean state media claimed the ICBM was capable of carrying a "large, heavy nuclear warhead" to any part of the United States.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
Pyongyang's nuclear tests - six times and counting
The ICBM is believed to be a step forward in the North's nuclear program. Despite pressure from the international community, Pyongyang has made no secret of its nuclear ambitions. Alongside its ritual ballistic missile tests, North Korea has conducted nuclear tests on at least six occasions, including one in September 2017.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/KCNA
US running out of patience?
Responding to the first ICBM test with a show of force, the US and South Korean troops on conducted "deep strike" precision missile drills using Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and the Republic of Korea's Hyunmoo Missile II. In April, the US sent its Carl Vinson aircraft carrier towards the Korean Peninsula, saying it was taking prudent measures against the North.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/M. Brown
Testing the boundaries
Ignoring international condemnation, Pyongyang test-launched another rocket on July 28, 2017, just weeks after its first ICBM test. In both of the tests, North Korea used Hwasong-14 missile, but the second one reached a higher altitude and traveled a larger distance than the first one, according to the state media.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/KCNA
Whole of US within range?
Pyongyang conducted its third test November 29, using a newly developed Hwasong-15 missile. US, Japanese and South Korean officials said it rose to about 4,500 km (2,800 miles) and flew 960 kilometers (600 miles) over about 50 minutes before landing in Japan's exclusive economic zone off the country's coast.
Image: picture-alliance/MAXPPP
One of the world's largest militaries
Apart from a developing missile and nuclear program, North Korea has a powerful army with 700,000 active troops and another 4.5 million in the reserves. It can call upon almost a quarter of its population to serve in the army at any given time. The North's bloated army is believed to outnumber its southern neighbor's by two-to-one.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Jones
Vast capabilities
According to the 2017 Global Firepower Index, the North has, as part of a far-reaching arsenal, 458 fighter aircraft, 5,025 combat tanks, 76 submarines, and 5,200,000 total military personnel. The picture above from 2013 shows leader Kim Jong Un ordering strategic rocket forces to be on standby to strike US and South Korean targets at any time.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Enemies all around
Alongside the United States, Pyongyang views its neighbors South Korea and Japan as its two other main enemies. North Korea has used US military exercises in the region as means of galvanizing its people, claiming that the exercises are dress rehearsals for an impending invasion.
Image: Reuters/K. Hong-Ji
Huge, colorful demonstrations of military might
Every year, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and citizens roll through the streets of the capital Pyongyang to take part in the North's military parades. Preparations for the rallies often begin months in advance, and the parades usually mark important anniversaries linked with the Communist Party or Kim Jong Un's family.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/KCNA
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Mattis: Conflict would be 'catastrophic'
While Trump underscored that the Pentagon was drawing up plans for dealing with North Korea, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said on Thursday that he did not believe Pyongyang's ICMB test had brought America closer to conflict.
"I do not believe this capability in itself brings us closer to war because the president has been very clear, and the secretary of state has been very clear, that we are leading with diplomatic and economic efforts," Mattis said. "As (Winston) Churchill put it, better to jaw-jaw than war-war."
While Trump said he was considering a "severe response," Mattis warned that launching a strike on North Korea would come nowhere to destroying its weapons arsenal and prompt Kim to swiftly retaliate with a long-range artillery attack on its southern neighbor.
While the US would surely prevail in an all-out conflict, it would "a catastrophic war," Mattis said.
