Tillerson: We Are in the Early Stages of Economic and Political Pressure on North Korea

In response to North Korea's new missile test, the U.S. Secretary of State criticized the action and warned Pyongyang that the pressures on North Korea are in their early stages. North Korea launched another ballistic missile from its eastern coast on Sunday, May 20. In this context, Rex Tillerson emphasized in an interview with Fox News: "We are in the early stages of applying economic and political pressure on North Korea." The U.S. Secretary of State expressed hope that North Korean officials "understand this message and realize that the path they are taking is not towards security and comfort." The missile test on Sunday, which the U.S. claims involved medium-range missiles, is considered the second missile test by the country within the past week. A South Korean military official stated that the tested missile appears to be an upgraded and modified version of North Korea's submarine-launched solid-fuel missile. The missile fired last week used liquid fuel and had a longer range. North Korea has so far ignored all requests to halt its nuclear and missile programs, even from China - its only ally - and has emphasized that it needs these weapons for its legal self-defense. The country has been trying to increase the range of its missiles for some time and claimed on Saturday that it has succeeded in extending the range of these missiles to reach U.S. territory, although Western missile experts say this claim is exaggerated. A U.S. official accompanying the President on a trip to Saudi Arabia stated that the White House is aware of the missile launches and has found that the new missile has a shorter range than the previous three missiles. Conducting two missile tests within just one week has complicated the work of South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in and challenged his plans to reduce tensions between the two countries. According to Reuters, North Korea believes that with the rise of a liberal government in South Korea, there is no hope for peace with its southern neighbor. The situation on the Korean Peninsula is sensitive because, after the 1950-1953 war between the two countries, no peace treaty has been signed. In response to North Korea's missile tests, the South Korean Foreign Minister stated that these tests are like cold water on the hopes and aspirations of the new government and the international community for peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The missile test conducted by North Korea a week ago was condemned by the UN Security Council, and at the same time, Washington threatened Pyongyang that if it repeated this action, new sanctions would be imposed. To counter the threat from North Korea, the U.S. has deployed the THAAD missile defense system, capable of targeting short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, in South Korea.