13 June, 2017
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis links hands with South Korea's Minister of Defense Han Minkoo, left, and Japan's Minister of Defense Tomomi Inada ahead of a trilateral meeting at the 2017 International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-la Dialogue, an annual defense and security forum in Asia, on Saturday, June 3, 2017 in Singapore.
The UN Security Council on Friday expanded targeted sanctions against North Korea after its repeated missile tests, adopting the first such resolution agreed by the United States and Pyongyang's only major ally China since US President Donald Trump took office, the news agency said.
The Trump administration has pledged to work with China on North Korea, but Trump has said the USA would act unilaterally if China did not step in.
"We call on North Korea to refrain from provocative, destabilizing actions and rhetoric, and to make the strategic choice to fulfill its worldwide obligations and commitments and return to serious talks", State Department spokeswoman Anna Richey-Allen told Yonhap News Agency.
The U.N. Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a US -drafted resolution imposing new targeted sanctions on a handful of North Korean officials and entities, in response to a series of ballistic missile tests this year that are banned under U.N. resolutions.
"If it continues on this risky path, we will have no other choice but to reinforce the pressure, again and again", Delattre said.
Mattis paraphrased former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, after a participant asked whether or not the world was witnessing the "destruction" of a rules-based order founded by the USA in the wake of World War II.
Allies around the world have been concerned about the commitment of the United States since Trump took office on January 20 because of his "America First" rhetoric and expectations that he would concentrate on a domestic agenda.
The Treasury Department has slapped additional sanctions on the financial, coal mining and military interests of North Korea by targeting companies that aid it in obtaining weapons of mass destruction and its continued violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions. Photo Credit: AFP via Getty Images He called North Korea an "urgent military threat".
The analyst highlights the timing of Pyongyang's latest missile tests, saying those launches coincided with the joint military drills between the US and South Korea.
Liu said China was calling on all parties to implement the resolution and "strive for a peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue" by strengthening efforts to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and promote peace and dialogue.
"The United States will continue to adapt and continue to expand its ability to work with others to secure a peaceful, prosperous and free Asia, with respect for all nations upholding global law", Mattis said to military leaders from at least 22 countries.
The North's insolent words came a day after Defense Secretary James Mattis called the country's nuclear tests "a clear and present danger".
Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne said it is encouraging that China has condemned recent actions by North Korea, but added that it has the power to do much more.
