Trump brings Putin into Korea crisis after missile landed 60 miles of Vladivostok

Donald Trump made an unexpected reference to Russia after North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan on Sunday.

‘The President has been briefed on the latest missile test by North Korea,’ a statement from the White House read.

‘With the missile impacting so close to Russian soil – in fact, closer to Russia than to Japan – the President cannot imagine that Russia is pleased.

‘North Korea has been a flagrant menace for far too long. South Korea and Japan have been watching this situation closely with us. The United States maintains our ironclad commitment to stand with our allies in the face of the serious threat posed by North Korea.

‘Let this latest provocation serve as a call for all nations to implement far stronger sanctions against North Korea,’ the statement concluded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently in Beijing for a two-day ‘Belt and Road’ conference hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The missile took off from Kusong, which is northwest of Pyongyang, where North Korea previously test-launched an intermediate-range missile.

US Pacific Command says the flight was not consistent with an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The projectile was launched at around 5.30am on Sunday and flew about 435 miles, according to South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff. Other reports claim the missile traveled 500 miles.

‘The South and US are analyzing more details about the missile,’ it said in a statement without elaborating. It is thought that the missile reached an altitude of 1,250 miles.

North Korea attempted but failed to test-launch ballistic missiles four consecutive times in the past two months. Nevertheless, the country has conducted a variety of missile testings since the beginning of last year at an unprecedented pace.

Weapons experts and government officials believe North Korea has accomplished some technical progress with those tests.

This launch is the first since liberal president Moon Jae-in took office in South Korea on Wednesday, saying dialogue and increased pressure must be used to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula and to stop North Korea’s weapons pursuit.

President Jae-In has summoned an emergency meeting with his national security advisors, his spokesman said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also slammed the missile launch as ‘totally unacceptable’ and a ‘grave threat’ to Tokyo.

‘We strongly protest against North Korea,’ he said.

Senior North Korean diplomat Choe Son Hui said that the country is willing to talk to the US and the Trump administration ‘under the right conditions.’

When asked if North Korea was also preparing to talk with the new government in South Korea, Hui said: ‘We’ll see.’

Hui did not elaborate on what the conditions in question might be, but her comments raise the possibility that North Korea and the US could return to negotiations for the first time since 2008, when six-nation talks over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program fell apart.

Source: Trump mentions Russia in statement on North Korean missile | Daily Mail Online