Source: Yonhap News
Kim Geon, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Relations Headquarters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke with the US and Japanese senior representative for North Korea’s nuclear program, Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, and Funakoshi Takehiro, director of the Office of Asian Affairs and Oceanography of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, respectively, and strongly condemn the resumption of North Korean ballistic missile launches.
The top representatives of the three countries said in a phone call that they strongly condemned North Korea’s continued provocations that exacerbated tensions in the region by resuming the launch of ballistic missiles, which had been suspended for the past two weeks after the end of the Chinese party congress.
He also reiterated that North Korea’s illegal provocations in direct violation of several UN Security Council resolutions cannot be justified for any reason.
The three senior representatives emphasized that North Korea’s nuclear and missile development will only lead to the strengthening of regional and international security cooperation, including the ROK, the United States, and Japan, and urged North Korea to immediately stop provocations and return to dialogue.
It was also agreed to continue to strengthen bilateral and trilateral communication and cooperation for a united and decisive response from the international community.
In particular, the DPRK’s top ROK-US nuclear representative decided to thoroughly prepare for any additional provocations from North Korea while maintaining a strong ROK-US joint defense posture.
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles between 11:59 am and 12:18 pm today into the East Sea from the Tongcheon area of Gangwon-do, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
