The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Pagoda Near Church Inflames Religious Tensions in Karen State
- Shwe Mann Questions Legality of USDP Ousting
- ‘All USDP Members Are Responsible for Our Loss in 2015’
- How the NLD Can Fulfill Its Promise of Peace
- Extreme Weather Kills 13, Destroys Hundreds of Pagodas
- China’s Xi Warns of Foreign Infiltration Through Religion
- Grief and Frustration as Nepal Marks Earthquake Anniversary
- N.Korea Claims Successful Test of Submarine-Fired Missile
| Pagoda Near Church Inflames Religious Tensions in Karen State Posted: 25 Apr 2016 05:59 AM PDT  Supporters of the monk U Thuzana pay respects at a pagoda he ordered constructed near a church in Karen State. (Photo: Saw William Kyaw / Facebook) RANGOON — A Buddhist monk and spiritual leader of an ethnic armed group stoked religious tensions last week when he and his followers built a pagoda on the property of an Anglican Church in Hlaingbwe Township, at Kondawgyi village in Karen State. The monk, U Thuzana, is also an influential figure within the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), a splinter group of the predominantly Christian-led Karen National Union, a fellow ethnic armed organization. Hundreds of his supporters this month brought bricks, cement and other building materials to construct the pagoda. Some among the group were members of the DKBA and wore military uniforms while building the shrine. This was not the first time U Thuzana, 73, has used provocative measures to "proselytize." The monk believes that these types of actions will generate good karma, according to a Karen Buddhist leader in Hpa-an, the state capital. "[U Thuzana] follows his heart, which tells him where to build the pagodas," said Saw Kyaw Zwa, a Buddhist leader from the Karen Affairs Committee. "Of course there are critics who condemn him for building a pagoda near land controlled by another religion. But our monk is just trying to realize his dreams." The Karen leader added that U Thuzana previously built a pagoda in front of a police station. Some religious leaders from the church asked U Thuzana not to build the pagoda, but when they realized he would not stop, they simply erected a fence between the church and the pagoda, said Saw Kyaw Zwa. Community leaders from Karen State have formed a committee to address religious problems, particularly in the case of U Thuzana. But the septuagenarian monk continues to build pagodas near Christian areas. "Our committee and some senior Buddhist monks asked [U Thuzana] to stop building pagodas at Christian churches, but he will not waver from following his dream," said Saw Kyaw Zwa. The Christians have been understanding, said Saw Kyaw Zwa, while adding that it would be better to stop U Thuzana now so he doesn't create more religious tensions in the future. Many critics condemned the actions on social media, but Bishop Saw Stylo in Hpa-an posted a message on his Facebook page addressing his followers: "I would like to urge you, Christians of Karen State, not to harbor grudges or hatred, and not to attack, but to practice benevolence, compassion and detachment." "Christ said that those who have a heart of gold receive his blessing and shall see God. I would like to urge all of you to have a heart of gold so that you can see God," the post continued. "Avoid fighting but rather practice love and benevolence." "We believe that this sort of thing should not happen," Saw Ahtoe, a religious affairs leader from the KNU told the Karen Information Center. "Karen has a long history of religious problems. We may write the government to take action, or we may write directly to the DKBA. We will join with other religious leaders to solve this problem." U Thuzana helped found the DKBA in 1994, splitting from the KNU amid claims that Christians in the organization discriminated against its Buddhist member. The group was originally named the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army. The DKBA in its early years aligned itself with the Burma government, and U Thuzana formed close ties with former Burma Army generals, who helped strengthen his forces. The post Pagoda Near Church Inflames Religious Tensions in Karen State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Shwe Mann Questions Legality of USDP Ousting Posted: 25 Apr 2016 04:41 AM PDT  Shwe Mann at a Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission meeting on Monday. (Photo: Shwe Mann / Facebook) RANGOON — Three days after he was sacked along with others from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), former chairman Shwe Mann has requested that party members review whether the dismissal was in accordance with the law. He posted a statement on his Facebook page on Monday confirming that he had received a letter outlining his official expulsion from the military-backed party on Friday. Shwe Mann also admitted that he had learned 16 other party members had reportedly met the same fate; many of those dismissed are serving on the Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission, over which he presides. Founded in early February after the Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) took up a majority seats in Parliament, the 23-member legislative oversight commission is tasked with supporting parliamentary committees as they amend existing laws and draft new bills. In the statement, Shwe Mann said that regardless of his party membership, he would keep working for people's security, prosperity and the country's development. "Though this is an intra-party issue, I assume it may somehow be concerned with the interests of the country and the citizens," he said. "I think people, including USDP members and relevant authorities, need to look over whether the action by some USDP top members towards me and the commission members is in accordance with the existing laws and rules." At the time of reporting, it was not yet clear who in the commission had been sacked as the USDP had not released a statement on the issue. Speaking to The Irrawaddy over the weekend, Tint Zaw, a USDP executive committee member said that in addition to Shwe Mann, the NLD government's Religious Affairs Minister Aung Ko was among the 17 who were sacked. "We have allowed those persons to resign from the party as they have violated the party's charter. It was the decision of the central executive committee," said Tint Zaw, before adding that since the dismissal concerned "internal affairs of the party," they "wanted to handle it quietly." The ousting was carried out almost immediately after Burma's ex-president Thein Sein resumed his duty as the chairman of the USDP, following a short stint within the Buddhist monkhood. He stepped down from the presidency on March 31. Shwe Mann, Aung Ko and other senior USDP members were purged from the party leadership by Thein Sein last year during a midnight raid at the organization's headquarters in Naypyidaw. Since then, both Shwe Mann and Aung Ko had remained regular USDP members. The Irrawaddy reporter Htet Naing Zaw contributed to this article from Naypyidaw. The post Shwe Mann Questions Legality of USDP Ousting appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| ‘All USDP Members Are Responsible for Our Loss in 2015’ Posted: 25 Apr 2016 04:03 AM PDT  Tint Zaw, a USDP central executive committee member, in Naypyidaw on Sunday. (Photo: Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy) The formerly ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is in the news again this week with former President Thein Sein making a dramatic return to the party leadership by purging more than a dozen senior members including Shwe Mann, who once served as party chairman before relations between the two men soured. Following the ouster of 17 members of the party's upper echelon on Friday, The Irrawaddy spoke with Tint Zaw, a USDP central executive committee member, in Naypyidaw to discuss the purge, his party's plans and Thein Sein's role in its future. What has the USDP been doing in the aftermath of the 2015 election? What activities has the party been engaged in since then? Our party has been in existence since 2003; we were an association then. We transformed the association into a party in 2010. As a party, we have functional branches at division, district and township levels, and we have the largest membership in Myanmar at present. We have concrete objectives, policies and principles and we are working according to them. What is significant is that we are now transforming ourselves into a people's party. And we are planning to make sure leaders of the party at the different levels, from village to central levels, are those who have good names with local people. We are now actively engaged in [public support] mobilization activities to reorganize the party with qualified and capable people who can lead the party and who people want. According to the party's charter, a conference is to be held once every five years. As we are a political party, one of our objectives is, of course, to contest and win the multi-party democracy general election. Only when we win the election will we be able to serve the interests of people more effectively and engage in nation-building endeavors. We are planning to hold the party conference to reorganize the party according to the reviews and recommendations we have made following the 2015 general election. We are now holding meetings at the village/ward level. Then, we'll hold meetings at township level, and then district and division levels. So, we expect to hold the central-level conference in August. The former President [Thein Sein] has taken back the USDP reins. What will his future role in the party be? Yes, he is back at the party. He comes to the party office now. He has even held a meeting with the central executive committee of the party. He is also devising policies. He is now giving close leadership. He is the incumbent chairman of the party. The USDP has purged U Shwe Mann and 16 other senior members. Can you explain the reasoning behind their dismissals? For a political party to exist, the party's rules are of importance. A party's rules are enforced in line with its charter and we reward and punish party members in line with the party's charter. The party headquarters has systematically formed relevant 'affairs' committees [such as on youth or international relations], and we have also formed a party rules enforcement committee, party functions assessment committee and so on. Those committees monitor party members and check whether they violate the party's charter. We have allowed those persons to resign from the party as they have violated the party's charter. It was the decision of the central executive committee. But then, it came under the spotlight as they are popular among the people. It is the internal affairs of the party and we therefore wanted to handle it quietly. The USDP won the 2010 election but suffered humiliating losses in the 2012 by-election and 2015 general election? What do you think is the reason for that? In fact, people want change. We won the 2010 multi-party election [boycotted by the National League for Democracy] and the USDP was able to form the government, and we made up the majority in Parliament. As the leading and ruling party, our party engaged with the people. As the party gets along with the military and is backed the military, it took the lead role in all the four estates of the country and served the interests of the people. But, I'm afraid it did not meet the aspirations and wishes of people. So, people wondered whether another organization would be able to do more for them, particularly regarding human rights, public health, education and social welfare. I'm afraid [the USDP track record] did not meet their expectations in those sectors. Our [former] military government and [successor] USDP government have engaged in works in the interests of the people. We have built highways, factories and airports. Everyone has borne witness. [There are] infrastructural developments almost everywhere. But for individual citizens, there are people who are not satisfied with the condition of schools their children are attending and who do not have access to potable water and electricity in their villages. Though we were able to bring development to our country, we could not meet the wishes of individual citizens. So people wanted change. We saw the warning sign in the 2012 by-election—that we did not meet the wishes of people. But then, we failed to make proper preparations and we lost the 2015 election as a result. Taking a lesson from this, we have to think about what we are going to do for 2020 [the year of Burma's next general election]. Here, I would like to stress that we want the country to develop. We uphold our three main national causes. It is not that we will try to achieve our goals alone and do not want somebody else to do it. If our goals can be reached and if the interests of the people can be served, we can accept anyone who does it and we are willing to cooperate. So, does the party plan to undertake reforms in light of the 2015 election outcome? In fact, all [party members] are responsible for the party's loss in 2015. From central executive committee to ward/village level, all are responsible for it as they failed to satisfy the wishes of people. Everyone takes that responsibility. As I have said, we are in the process of reorganizing the party with qualified, capable and respected people who can lead the party and who are backed by the people. And we are also strengthening the party's policies. What business interests does the party hold? How is the party's financial situation? We had the idea of transforming the USDA into a political party since we formed it as a social organization. We had laid down the objectives of serving the interests of people and turning ourselves into a political force together with the military, which is the defense force of the country. Our leaders predicted that other political parties would find fault with the party's possessions, so we have made sure most of our businesses are in line with financial laws and regulations of the State, and we also make sure we do not take concessions because other political parties use our financial position and businesses as a reason to attack us. But after we transformed into a political party, we ceased doing business except farming and livestock breeding, the business of the country's majority, because we were afraid that people would have negative opinions of us if we continued to do these businesses. Final question: How much do you think the USDP, as an opposition party, will be able to serve as a check on the NLD government? Our goal is to bring about development for the country and the people, at least the same level of development with neighboring counties, especially in the sectors of education, health, human rights and infrastructure. We need to build peace, create job opportunities and address the unemployment. We tried to address those problems while we were the government and in Parliament. And we are willing to cooperate with any party if it serves the interests of the country and the people. And we will point out, as a political party, if they make mistakes. Even the people who have fought for various reasons [in the past] are now talking around the table. We'll respond constructively to the big [NLD] party, which people have voted for clearly. Our goal is that which is in the interests of the country and the people. The post 'All USDP Members Are Responsible for Our Loss in 2015' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| How the NLD Can Fulfill Its Promise of Peace Posted: 25 Apr 2016 03:00 AM PDT  Buddhist monks and activists in Rangoon stand near lighted candles as they protest against a Burma Army artillery attack on a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) training center, on Nov. 24, 2014. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) Burma's new government has declared that finding a solution to the country's decades-long civil war is one of its top priorities. That is clearly in line with the policies of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), which stated when the party was formed in September 1988, "[t]he forty-year history of [ethnic] relations has been a chapter of misfortune verging on the tragic … the development of the country has suffered greatly since 40 percent of the national budget has to be devoted to defence requirements … for these reasons we must seek a lasting solution to the problems of the ethnic minorities … it is the aim of the League to secure the highest degree of autonomy consonant with the inherent rights of the minorities and the well-being of the Union as a whole." But in order to achieve peace, it is also obvious that the new government must find a novel approach to this issue. In late 2012, Thein Sein, the previous president, set up an organization called the Myanmar Peace Center and, with massive financial support from the international community, embarked on an ambitious program of talks with Burma's many ethnic armed organizations (EAO). But the problem was that the Myanmar Peace Center put the cart before the horse by asking the EAOs to sign a "nationwide ceasefire agreement" first and hold political talks later. In practice, that meant that groups which agreed to a ceasefire with the government army would be rewarded with lucrative business opportunities. And then, perhaps, some political talks would be held. Not surprisingly, that policy turned out to be a complete failure. There were few takers, and, as a face-saving gesture in the 11th hour before the end of its term, the Thein Sein government invited some EAOs to Naypyidaw where a "Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement" was signed on Oct. 15 last year—hardly by coincidence less than a month before the election. It was said that eight EAOs had signed the agreement, but five of the signatories had no armed forces, and one—the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army—had been a government-allied militia since it broke away from the Karen National Union (KNU) in December 1994. That means only two of the signatories were actually engaged in armed struggle against the government: the KNU and the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS). None of the other main EAOs in the country signed the October agreement: the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the National Democratic Alliance Army (eastern Shan State), and the Shan State Army (whose name the RCSS has taken, causing confusion among the Shans as well as outsiders). Those groups together account for more than four-fifths of all ethnic combatants in the country. Since then, the agreement has caused divisions between the groups that signed it and those that didn't. The RCSS, evidently with the approval of the Tatmadaw, Burma's military, moved at least 2,000 soldiers from its bases along the Thai border to northern Shan State, where they are engaged in battles with the ethnic Palaung TNLA. The TNLA's allies, the UWSA, the KIA, the Shan State Army and the MNDAA, have vowed to fight the RCSS unless it ceases attacks on the Palaungs. The KNU has not split officially, but divisions run deep within the organization over the controversial accord with the government. On Nov. 5, less than three weeks after the conference in Naypyidaw, two prominent Karen leaders made a surprise appearance at a meeting of EAOs at Panghsang, the UWSA headquarters. However, they came as representatives of the Karen National Defense Organization, the KNU's village militia forces, so as not to prompt an open rift within the Karen movement. This divide-and-rule policy, coupled with bribes to leaders of the EAOs to sign a "ceasefire agreement," can hardly be the way forward. The best that could be done with the Oct. 15 agreement would be to file it away and let it die the death it deserves. On the other hand, the EAOs that did not sign it have failed to come up with a viable alternative to the now stalled "peace process." They have also been reactive rather than proactive, and are now doing little more than waiting for the new government to invite them to talks. Cynics would argue that some of the EAO leaders may also be waiting to hear what lucrative deals the new government may offer them, and if those would be even better than the business deals awarded the KNU, the RSCC and others. But it should not be too difficult to come up with a comprehensive roadmap for peace, even though the situation in Burma today has been made even muddier by the presence of a host of foreign carpetbaggers. Styling themselves as "peacemakers," they have shown that they have little or no understanding of Burma's ethnic problems—and that their main interest is to cash in on the peace bonanza that the flow of foreign funds has resulted in, not to alleviate the sufferings of the people in the frontier areas. A simple way forward could look like this: As a first step, the government should announce a nationwide ceasefire. Nothing has to be signed at this stage, but some on-the-ground monitoring would be required. Then the government should invite leaders of the EAOs, representatives of civil society groups and religious organizations for talks about the way forward. Step three would be to study federal models that would provide lasting solutions to the ethnic conflicts and thereby strengthen the Union. A continuation of the civil war will only be detrimental to national unity, as has been the case been for decades. Then, a federal model should be agreed upon in line with the aspirations of the non-Bamar peoples—and the promises of the NLD's 1988 manifesto of "the highest degree of autonomy consonant with the inherent rights of the minorities and the well-being of the Union as a whole." As a fifth and final step, a political agreement should be signed, the EAOs could be dissolved and turned into local police forces or whatever they, civil society and the government think would be the best solution. Such an accord could be considered a successor to the historic 1947 Panglong Agreement, at which Aung San Suu Kyi's father, Gen. Aung San, worked with leaders from ethnic groups to decide how the Union of Burma would be constituted. But as was with the first Panglong Agreement, these new terms should be signed only after a consensus has been reached on what kind of political structure Burma should have. This may not be easy, but solving decades-long conflicts never is. At the very least, it would be more constructive than the policies of the previous government and its supporters in the international donor community. The main task has to be to bring one of the world's longest-lasting ethnic wars to an end, not to benefit from it financially in terms of funding for various, largely meaningless "peace projects." After decades of "misfortune verging on the tragic," as the NLD stated in 1988, the people of Burma, regardless of nationality, deserve nothing less than to live in peace and harmony with each other. Bertil Lintner is a former correspondent with the Far Eastern Economic Review and author of several books on Burma. The post How the NLD Can Fulfill Its Promise of Peace appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Extreme Weather Kills 13, Destroys Hundreds of Pagodas Posted: 24 Apr 2016 10:49 PM PDT  Kakku pagodas in southern Shan State damaged after strong winds on Friday night. (Photo: Burma Army Commander-in-Chief Office / Facebook) RANGOON — Gale-force winds and hailstorms have killed more than 10 people and destroyed homes, religious buildings and livestock in northern Burma since Friday. The affected areas were in Mandalay, Sagaing and Magwe divisions, as well as Shan and Arakan states, claiming the lives of 13 people and injuring dozens. Storms damaged more than 15,000 homes and killed hundreds of cattle, local media reported on Monday. According to a report on Saturday from the office of Burma's military commander-in-chief, a 30-minute-long gale-force wind toppled more than 800 pagodas in the Kakku Pagoda compound about 30 miles outside of Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State. The pagoda complex boasts a cluster of more than 2,400 religious structures, believed to be many centuries old. Kakku has been closed to visitors as the damage is assessed. According to reports in the Global New Light of Myanmar on Monday, heavy rains, thunderstorms and strong winds are expected to continue throughout the week in northern Burma. The weather patterns, the state-run media outlet explained, are caused by the cumulus clouds created by "atmospheric instability" of cool winds originating in India and Bangladesh meeting high temperatures in Burma. The post Extreme Weather Kills 13, Destroys Hundreds of Pagodas appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| China’s Xi Warns of Foreign Infiltration Through Religion Posted: 24 Apr 2016 10:43 PM PDT  Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, looks on as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, receives a Buddha statue from an abbot of Dacien Buddhist Temple in Shaanxi province, China, May 14, 2015. (Photo: Reuters / China Daily) BEIJING — China must be on guard against foreign infiltration through religion and stop "extremists" spreading their ideology, President Xi Jinping told a top-level meeting on managing religion, state media reported on Sunday. China must also manage the Internet to promote the Communist Party's religious theories and policies, the official Xinhua news agency cited Xi as saying. "We must resolutely resist overseas infiltration through religious means and guard against ideological infringement by extremists," Xi was quoted as saying at a two-day national working conference on religion that ended on Saturday. The ruling Communist Party says it protects freedom of religion, but it keeps a tight rein on religious activities and allows only officially recognized religious institutions to operate. The government is concerned about what it sees as the growing influence by Islamists in the Xinjiang region in the far west, where hundreds of people have been killed over the past few years in violence between members of the Muslim Uighur community and majority Han Chinese. Officials there have stepped up regulations banning overt signs of religious observance, like veils or beards. Separately, some Chinese Christians say authorities are limiting their activities and taking down crosses on churches in coastal Zhejiang province. Authorities have said crosses are removed because they violate regulations against illegal structures. Protests broke out in 2014 in the heavily Christian city of Wenzhou, also in Zhejiang, over the government's cross demolition campaign. In January, authorities also said a Christian pastor was being investigated for suspicion of embezzling funds. The investigation came after the pastor opposed the campaign to remove crosses. Communist party members must adhere to Marxist principles and remain "staunchly atheist," Xi said in his remarks. The post China's Xi Warns of Foreign Infiltration Through Religion appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Grief and Frustration as Nepal Marks Earthquake Anniversary Posted: 24 Apr 2016 10:43 PM PDT  People lit candles creating the shape of the historic nine-story Dharara tower and Kasthamandap temple to mark the first anniversary of the 2015 earthquakes at Bashantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal, on April 24, 2016. (Photo: Reuters) KATHMANDU, Nepal — Grieving relatives mourned on Sunday the thousands killed in a huge earthquake in Nepal last year, as aid agencies warned about the health risks for the millions still living in sub-standard temporary shelter following the country's worst-ever disaster. The 7.8-magnitude quake struck high in the Himalayas minutes before noon on a sunny Saturday, toppling one million houses, upending roads and turning hundreds of mountain villages into ruins that left about 9,000 people dead and 22,000 injured. In Kathmandu, the capital, Prime Minister K. P. Oli led a day of mourning, placing a wreath at the remains of the Dharahara tower that collapsed during the quake, killing 132 people. At the nearby Durbar Square, a Unesco-listed world heritage site, a dozen crimson-robed monks chanted from Buddhist scriptures at a memorial as the victims' relatives sat cross-legged, praying, in front of framed portraits of their loved ones. Among them was grief-stricken Surya Bahadur Shrestha, praying for his late father who was crushed to death by a building in the city. "I came to mourn my father who died here last year. I prayed for eternal peace for the soul," the 49-year-old said. One year on from the quake, reconstruction has been slow and uneven in the poor Himalayan country, and most of the US$4.1 billion that donors pledged for reconstruction in June last year remains unspent because of political squabbling. As around 100 people protested near the prime minister's office, demanding the government begin rebuilding, the Red Cross said four million people were still living in poor-quality temporary shelters, posing a threat to their health and wellbeing. "We are hoping that the government's priorities and perspectives on reconstruction will soon be clear so that we can help people to rebuild and get their lives back on track as quickly as possible," said Max Santner, head of the Nepal mission of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Gopal Khanal, an aide to Prime Minister Oli, said the government would make arrangements for proper shelter before the start of the annual rainy season in June, but many are skeptical about the state's ability to deliver. Kanchhi Tamang, who lost her home in the tremor, said she feared that her three young children would be forced to endure a second monsoon living in a shack on the outskirts of Kathmandu. A government authority set up in January to oversee rebuilding has so far only distributed $500 to 800 people, against a promise of handing $2,000 to every household who lost their home, National Reconstruction Authority spokesman Ram Prasad Thapaliya said. Unrest over a new constitution adopted in September, which triggered a months-long blockade of Nepal's border with India by an ethnic group in the south of the country, has added to the upheaval and delays in rebuilding. The post Grief and Frustration as Nepal Marks Earthquake Anniversary appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| N.Korea Claims Successful Test of Submarine-Fired Missile Posted: 24 Apr 2016 10:02 PM PDT  A strategic submarine ballistic missile is fired in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on April 24, 2016. (Photo: Reuters / KCNA) SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Sunday that it successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine and warned of its growing ability to cut down its enemies with a "dagger of destruction." South Korea couldn't immediately confirm the claim of success in what marks Pyongyang's latest effort to expand its military might in face of pressure by its neighbors and Washington. Hours before the announcement, South Korean military officials said the North fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile from a submarine off its eastern coast. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectile traveled about 30 kilometers (19 miles) Saturday evening. That's much shorter than the typical distance of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, which can fly at least 300 kilometers (186 miles). A successful test from a submarine would be a worrying development because mastering the ability to fire missiles from submerged vessels would make it harder for outsiders to detect what North Korea is doing before it launches, giving it the potential to surprise its enemies. While South Korean experts say it's unlikely that North Korea currently possesses an operational submarine that can fire multiple missiles, they acknowledge that the North is making progress on such technology. In a typical example of overblown rhetoric, the North's Korean Central News Agency said leader Kim Jong-un observed from a test facility as the ballistic missile surged from a submarine and spewed out a "massive stream of flames" as it soared into the sky. It said the missile met all technical thresholds. The KCNA report said that after the test Kim declared that the North now has another strong nuclear strike method and also the ability to stick a "dagger of destruction" into the heads of its enemies, South Korea and the United States, at any time. The KCNA report didn't say when or where the recent test-firing took place. South Korean officials said the launch on Saturday took place near the North Korean coastal town of Sinpo, where analysts have previously detected efforts by the North to develop submarine-launched ballistic missile systems. The North last test-launched a submarine-launched ballistic missile on Dec. 25, but that test was seen as failure, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The North first claimed of a successful submarine-launched missile test in May last year. US Strategic Command, headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, said its "systems detected and tracked what we assess was a North Korean submarine missile launch from the Sea of Japan." A statement from Strategic Command added that the missile launch "did not pose a threat to North America." US military forces "remain vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and are fully committed to working closely with our Republic of Korea and Japanese allies to maintain security," it said. The US State Department said that in response to Saturday's launch, it was limiting the travel of North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong and his delegation to UN functions in New York, where they are attending a UN meeting on sustainable development. The United States noted "launches using ballistic missile technology are a clear violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions." "We call on North Korea to refrain from actions that further destabilize the region and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its commitments and international obligations," said State Department spokesman John Kirby. The UN Security Council issued a press statement that "strongly condemned" the firing of the submarine-launched ballistic missile, saying it constitutes "yet another serious violation" of council resolutions. The Security Council members reiterated that North Korea should "refrain from further actions in violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions and comply fully with its obligations under these resolutions, including to suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program." North Korea has recently sent a barrage of missiles and artillery shells into the sea amid ongoing annual military drills between the United States and South Korea. Pyongyang says the drills are a preparation for an invasion of the North. The firings also come as the North expresses anger about toughened international sanctions over its recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch. North Korea's belligerence may also be linked to a major ruling party congress next month meant to further cement leader Kim Jong-un's grip on power. Promoting military accomplishments could be an attempt to overshadow a lack of economic achievements ahead of the Workers' Party congress, the first since 1980. The post N.Korea Claims Successful Test of Submarine-Fired Missile appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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