Chinese defense chiefs say the country’s military has successfully tested a new kind of guided missile near the Korean peninsula.
The test in the Bohai Sea was to ‘raise the operational capability of the armed forces and effectively respond to threats to national security,’ the Defense Ministry said.
An official statement did not say what kind of missile was tested or when it was fired, only saying it happened ‘recently’. The test ‘achieved the expected result’, the statement added.
Officials also did not say what platform the weapon was launched from.
The announcement came a week after Beijing reassured North Korea that it wants to remain allies amid tensions with American over the country’s nuclear programme.
In a rare rebuke, North Korea had accused China of ‘dancing to the tune of the US’ and ‘stomping on a red line’ in relations after it had backed calls for more sanctions on Kim Jong-un’s regime.
China had described repeated nuclear tests by North Korea in a mountainous region near its border as a ‘threat’.
Kim Jong-un has made it clear that his ultimate ambition is to develop a missile system capable of delivering a nuclear warhead on to the mainland United States. Donald Trump has said that ‘will not happen’.
In order to try and force North Korea’s hand, the President reached out to Chinese premier Xi Jinping, having talks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
But last week China also issued its own rebuke to America after a $1billion THAAD anti-missile defense system was installed in South Korea.
Military chiefs from Seoul and Washington argue the system is necessary amid increased missile tests by Kim Jong-un, but the Chinese fear its powerful radar system will be used to spy across their border.
The system became operational last week, prompting immediate calls by Beijing to suspend its deployment.
Beijing also imposed a host of measures seen as economic retaliation against the South for the THAAD deployment, including a ban on tour groups.
To further complicate matters, China and Russia have also moved troops and armour to the borders they share with North Korea, believed to be guarding against a wave of refugees should war break out.
Amidst this tension, South Korean elected left-leaning former human rights lawyer Moon Jae-In as its new President on Tuesday.
He was elected after the country’s previous leader, Park Geun-hye, was impeached over corruption allegations.
Mr Moon, who is the son of North Korean refugees, used his first speech at the country’s new leader to call for increased dialogue with the country of his birth.
Observers believe his administration will herald a big shift in relations with Pyongyang as it re-engages with the North after years of severed diplomatic links and increased sanctions.
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