On the 17th and 18th of this month, the foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, and Japan issued a joint statement condemning North Korea’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch. The ministers expressed their disgust at the North Korean regime’s decision to devote limited resources to its weapons program instead of its citizens. They urged North Korea to halt its ongoing provocations, which they described as “acts that seriously threaten peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, in the region, and internationally.”
According to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the three countries’ foreign ministers announced a Joint Statement by the Foreign Ministers of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan on North Korea’s ICBM and Other Ballistic Missile Launches. The ministers highlighted that the recent missile launches, carried out without prior notice, also threatened the safety of civil aviation and maritime navigation in the region. The U.S. stressed, “The U.S.’s defense commitment to South Korea and Japan is ironclad and backed by all categories of capabilities, including nuclear.”
The foreign ministers of the three countries emphasized that “North Korea has once again blatantly violated numerous UN Security Council resolutions, reminding all nations of the need to fully implement the Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from acquiring technology and materials to advance its illegal missile program.” They urged “an immediate halt to all actions violating Security Council resolutions.”
The ministers particularly opposed “North Korea’s ongoing development of illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. We reiterate that North Korea’s human rights abuses are inextricably linked to the advancement of its illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. We will continue to closely cooperate with the international community to block the financing of these illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.”
South Korea, the U.S., and Japan also added that they urge North Korea, along with the international community, to halt further provocations and respond to calls for substantive dialogue without preconditions.
By. Koo Chae Eun
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