Cut Kim Jong-un some slack: China makes coronavirus case for North Korea sanctions relief

North Korea is suffering ‘negatively’ from the coronavirus and the US should ease sanctions, China’s UN ­ambassador has said.

IKim Jong-un observes the missile tests on Monday. Picture: KCNA via AP

North Korea is suffering “negatively” from the coronavirus and the US and other countries should ease sanctions, China’s UN ­ambassador has said.

Zhang Jun said a draft resolution proposed by Russia and China in December that would terminate sanctions on North ­Korean exports such as textiles, seafood and statues was still on the table — and “we do hope that all parties should give a second thought on this issue”.

“It’s our position that parties concerned really need to show more flexibilities in building up mutual trust, in seeking solutions through dialogue, and especially in realising the final goals of ­denuclearisation and a lasting peace in the Korean peninsula,” he said.

“Sanctions is only a means in realising our goals. So while we have seen some progress from one side, we also need to show flexibilities from the other side.”

He spoke following North Korea’s firing of two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern sea on Monday, resuming weapons launches after a months-long ­hiatus that may have been forced by the coronavirus crisis in Asia.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un supervised an earlier live-fire rocket artillery exercise to confirm his military’s combat readiness and “further kindle the flames of training revolution”, state media said.

The report by the Korean Central News Agency came a day after South Korea’s military detected what appeared to be two short-range ballistic launches of projectiles that landed in the North’s eastern sea.

Pyongyang’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper published photos of rockets soaring out of multiple rocket launchers and an island target enveloped in smoke. Analysts have speculated North Korea reduced training and other activities with large troop gatherings to reduce the chance of the virus spreading in its military.

North Korea has not revealed whether it had cases of the illness, though state media has hinted at some people being quarantined while showing symptoms.

KCNA said of the drill that North Korean troops “proudly demonstrated” accurate marksmanship with their long-range ­artillery pieces, but it didn’t specify the weapons involved.

Kim Dong-yub, an analyst from Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said the weapons involved would have included a “super large” multiple rocket launcher the North first revealed last year, judging by the flight data announced by Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Since the collapse of a second summit last year between Kim and US President Donald Trump, North Korea resumed ballistic ­activity and weapons launches to ­expand its military capabilities.

Kim had entered the new year vowing to bolster his nuclear ­deterrent in the face of “gangster-like” US sanctions.

AP