◀ anchor ▶
North Korea continues to raise the level of provocations, including ballistic missile launches and artillery fire.
The three foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan held a meeting in Tokyo.
He warned that if North Korea goes ahead with a nuclear test, it will take an unprecedentedly harsh response.
Correspondent Hyun Young-jun in Tokyo reports.
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First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong of Korea, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman of the US State Department, and Japanese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Mori Mori met closely in Tokyo.
The vice ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan, which strongly condemned North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launch, have also issued warnings about North Korea’s move to test nuclear weapons.
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“In particular, all three countries agreed that an unprecedentedly strong response would be needed if North Korea finally conducts its seventh nuclear test.”
To this end, he emphasized that South Korea, the United States and Japan will further strengthen security cooperation.
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“We decided to further strengthen the deterrence of the US-Japan alliance and the ROK-US alliance, while further promoting trilateral security cooperation.”
However, he said that the way to dialogue with North Korea is always open and that he will provide political and economic support if North Korea completes denuclearization.
The three vice ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan are also closely watching China, which has recently completed one-man rule by Xi Jinping.
China has made it clear that it should not try to change the status quo unilaterally by force, such as the unification of Taiwan by force.
He also showed a conciliatory attitude, saying that cooperation with China is also necessary.
[웬디 셔먼 미국 국무부 부장관]
“There are elements of competition with China, but we will also continue to seek cooperation on climate change, health, and denuclearization.”
In a situation where North Korea, China, and Russia are uniting to threaten international security, tensions over Northeast Asia have also increased as the three countries, the United States, South Korea, and Japan have agreed to strengthen security cooperation and face each other.
This is Young-Jun Hyun from MBC News from Tokyo.
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