Tensions rise on Korean Peninsula

US and South Korean forces have conducted their own ballistic missile test on the east coast of the Korean peninsula. It was part of a show of force in retaliation for the North’s missile launch on Tuesday.

There has been a ratcheting up of tensions between Pyongyang and Washington and Seoul after the rogue nation’s latest launch. US experts say the new missile had a range of more than 8,000 km which means it could possibly reach Alaska.

Why North Korea could now threaten the U.S. https://t.co/w9BMbbdPaJpic.twitter.com/ZLAICFhZOw

— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) July 5, 2017

The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting at Washington’s request in the light of what the state department has called a new escalation of threat.

Tillerson: North Korea intercontinental ballistic missile test ‘represents a new… https://t.co/8SOluoqq4apic.twitter.com/EJ65V9zQvI

— Politic Reviews (@politicreviews8) July 5, 2017

This year North Korea has carried out a series of missile tests flouting international sanctions.

Leader Kim Jong Un refuses to negotiate with the US until Washington abandons what he calls its hostile policy against his country.