Japan, S. Korea, US Vow Deeper Ties After North Missile Launch

1/18/2024 10:04:57 AM

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) TOKYO, Jan 18 (KUNA) -- Top nuclear envoys from Japan, South Korea and the US on Thursday affirmed closer cooperation to address the threat from North Korea.
The meeting in Seoul came after Pyongyang firing an intermediate-range solid-fuel ballistic missile last weekend, Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported.
It was attended by Hiroyuki Namazu, Director General of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and Kim Gunn, South Korea's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs and Jun Pak, US Deputy Special Representative for North Korea.
The three officials shared their "deep concern" over weapon transfers from North Korea to Russia, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, as Pyongyang and Moscow ramp up their military ties amid the latter's war in Ukraine, according to the report. Their talks came after the North successfully test-fired a missile carrying a hypersonic warhead Sunday, its first such activity of the year. On Monday, North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un called for a constitutional change that would designate South Korea as a "primary foe and invariable principal enemy" during a parliamentary meeting; further fueling tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Pak said at the outset of the talks that the US is deeply concerned by North Korea's "recent uptick in hostile rhetoric," particularly toward South Korea. "Increased trilateral cooperation in recent years has been an important and positive development in our efforts to address the DPRK challenge," she said, referring to the acronym for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
The trilateral meeting also took place after North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday. Lavrov told Choe that Russia is grateful for North Korea's support in the war against Ukraine, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. (end)
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