N Korea missile test would be ‘huge mistake’ – Kerry

John Kerry came to Seoul, the South Korean capital, to send a message, a frank and pointed warning to the North Korean regime.

“We are all united,” he told a press briefing, “in the fact that North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power.

“The rhetoric that we’re hearing from North Korea is simply unacceptable, by any standard.

Leaked report

Mr Kerry was forced to downplay a report leaked in congress, suggesting the North Korean nuclear threat had increased.

The revelation came from Republican representative Doug Lambourn, who was quoting from a Pentagon report.

The United States and the Republic of Korea both want to see a peaceful Korean peninsula and that means it must be free of nuclear weapons. John Kerry

He said: “DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles, however the reliability will be low.”

US General Martin Dempsey declined to comment on the report, saying it was not in the public domain, and other officials then played down the report’s findings.

US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel, also facing questions from the committee, said he did not believe North Korea “has that capacity right now”.

Bombastic threats

North Korea lacks the technical know-how to deliver nuclear weapons. And it seems the Americans are not sure. Pentagon officials were furiously backtracking today.

China seems increasingly unhappy with North Korea’s bombastic threats – but it remains the regime’s only friend. And a key plank of US strategy is to get the Chinese to do more. Tonight Secretary Kerry made his request forecefully.

“If your policy is de-nuclearisation – and it is theirs, as it is ours, as it is everybody’s except for the North’s at this moment – if that’s your policy, you’ve got to put some teeth into it,” he said.

International spotlight

There were a couple of rockets on display in the North Korean capital today – as part of a flower show marking the birthday of the nation’s founder, Kim Il-sung.

The atmosphere seemed untroubled and the country’s leader, Kim Jung-un, may be enjoying the international spotlight.

John Kerry moves on to China tomorrow with a sizeable favour to ask: he wants the Chinese government to rein in their petulant neighbour.

And with a provocative act expected imminently, like a missile launch, he’s going to need all the help he can get.