North Korea To Face 'Major Sanctions' Over Latest Missile Launch

WASHINGTON, DC — In response to North Korea's ballistic missile launch on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said he's been in talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and vowed the rogue country would see additional penalties for its actions.

North Korea said it successfully launched a "significantly more" powerful intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Trump tweeted on Wednesday that he talked with Xi about the "provocative actions" and said additional "major sanctions" will be imposed.

"This situation will be handled!" he tweeted.

Officials believe the launch occurred around 1:30 p.m. Eastern. The South Korean military also confirmed the launch, saying it left "eastward" from Pyongsong in North Korea, the BBC reported. It was the first North Korean missile test since the country launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Sept. 15 that flew over northern Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.

A White House statement about the phone conversation said Trump made clear "the determination of the United States to defend ourselves and our allies." Trump also "emphasized the need for China to use all available levers to convince North Korea to end its provocations and return to the path of denuclearization."

South Korea, a key U.S. ally separated from the North by a highly militarized border, responded with shorter-range missile tests of its own to mimic striking the North Korea launch site, which it said lies not far from the North Korean capital.

Trump urged Xi "to use all available levers" to convince its wayward ally to "return to the path of denuclearization."

It was not immediately clear if Trump was referring to additional U.S. sanctions or another around of penalties at the United Nations. Agreement between the U.S. and China, both veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council, is key to such action. The council is due to hold an emergency meeting Wednesday afternoon.

Outside governments and analysts concurred the North had made a jump in missile capability. Some observers believe the Hwasong-15 missile that was tested on a high trajectory and splashed down in the Sea of Japan in the early hours of Wednesday in Asia could potentially reach Washington and the entire eastern U.S. seaboard.

That suggests progress by Pyongyang in developing a weapon of mass destruction that could strike the U.S. mainland. Trump has vowed to prevent North Korea from having that capability — using military force if necessary.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency said Xi told Trump that denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, maintaining international nuclear-nonproliferation regime, and preserving peace and stability in Northeast Asia are China's unwavering goal.

Xi said China would like to keep up communications with the United States and all other related parties, and "jointly push the nuclear issue toward the direction of peaceful settlement via dialogues and negotiations," according to Xinhua.

U.S. sanctions against North Korea were bolstered last week after the Trump administration declared North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism. Those sanctions targeted North Korean shipping and Chinese companies that deal with the North.

Tillerson: More Potential Sanctions For North Korea

By MATTHEW PENNINGTON, Associated Press

Photo credit: South Korea Defense Ministry via AP