bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse in Singapore

North Korea remains Washington’s “number one security concern” in Asia, the US Pacific Fleet commander said on Wednesday, despite simmering territorial disputes elsewhere in the region.
Admiral Harry B Harris Jr also accused China of “coercion” in its maritime disputes with neighbours.
He said an increased deployment of US military assets in the region as part of an Asian “pivot” announced in 2012 would ensure that “we are where it matters and when it matters”.
“Our number one security concern is North Korea,” Harris told reporters in Singapore on board the destroyer USS Spruance.
“I am concerned as a commander for the provocations that come from North Korea. I don’t understand them. I don’t understand their leadership and I don’t understand their intent,” he said.

	“It has not affected our military operations at all. We choose to do business as usual in the ADIZ.”

	US Admiral Harry B Harris Jr
Pyongyang last week warned of “calamities and disasters” if the United States and South Korea push ahead with a series of annual joint military drills from next month.
Last year’s exercises were held in the wake of North Korea’s third and largest nuclear test, and prompted months of escalated military tensions that saw Pyongyang issue similar apocalyptic threats of nuclear war against its southern neighbour and the United States.
Harris also expressed concern at China’s declaration of an “air defence identification zone” (ADIZ) over the East China Sea, including over islands disputed with Japan.
“We think that the air defence identification zone was an unfortunate imposition in the region,” he said.
“It highlights an issue that I am concerned about, and that is coercion by China in this case and other countries as well,” he added.
“It has not affected our military operations at all. We choose to do business as usual in the ADIZ.”
The declaration, which caused an international furore, requires foreign aircraft to declare their intentions and maintain communications with Chinese authorities or face unspecified “defensive emergency measures”.
China is also embroiled in a bitter row with the Philippines, Vietnam and other nations about overlapping claims in the South China Sea.
Beijing claims sovereignty over essentially all that sea.
Harris urged countries involved in the territorial disputes to resolve them “amicably, peacefully, and without resort to undue pressure”.
He also welcomed the acceptance by China’s People’s Liberation Army of an invitation to take part in major US-hosted naval drills for the first time in June off Hawaii.
The biennial Rim of the Pacific exercise, or RIMPAC, is billed as the world’s largest international maritime war games and will feature armed forces from 23 nations.
“We welcome Chinese participation, and we welcome quite frankly the growth of China as a military power in the Pacific. There is nothing wrong with that,” he said.
 


US Pacific fleet chief says North Korea is top security concern in Asia

US Navy's Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Harry B Harris Jr (left) speaks to journalists onboard the USS Spruance in Singapore on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

N Korea threatens repeat of island shelling

South Korean veterans and conservative civic groups attend a memorial service for victims of the artillery attack on Yeonpyeong island in Seoul on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

South Korean protesters burn a North Korean flag during a rally against North Korea on the eve of the second anniversary of North Korea's artillery shelling of Yeonpyeong island, in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday. Photo: AP

Kim Jong-un's uncle, Jang Song-thaek, executed for treason in North Korea

Jang Song-thaek, North Korea's vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, at a meeting in Beijing last year. Photo: AP

Photo of Jang at his trial released by North Korean state media. 

North Korean subway commuters gather around a public newspaper stand on a train platform in Pyongyang yesterday to read the state media report about the execution of Jang Song-thaek (inset). Photo: AP

A still image taken from North Korea's state-run KRT television footage shows Jang Song Thaek being forcibly removed from a WPK meeting in Pyongyang.

Photo of Jang's trial released by North Korean state media. 

Jang seen with then Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing in August 2012. Photo: Xinhua

News

Asia

Admiral 'concerned' over provocations from Pyongyang and worried over Beijing's 'coercion' in declaring new air defence identification zone
