On the 13th, South Korea and the U.S. chief negotiators on North Korea’s nuclear program discussed future countermeasures against North Korea’s recent missile provocations.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a phone call with Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, Kim Geon, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters, said that North Korea would launch additional provocations following the launch of a short-range ballistic missile (CRBM) on the 9th and a submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) on the 12th. He expressed concern about being threatened.
In addition, Headquarters Director Kim and CEO Kim recognized that “the ROK-US joint training is important to strengthen the alliance’s ability to respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, which are becoming more sophisticated and explicit, such as the legislation of nuclear force policies that threaten the preemptive use of nuclear weapons.” together, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The ROK and U.S. militaries are conducting the joint exercise “Freedom Shield” (FS) in the first half of this year for 11 days from this day.
Both sides of the ROK and the US also criticized, “North Korea is trying to use this as an excuse to justify its illegal provocation ahead of the U.S.-South Korea exercise and the UN Security Council’s discussion on North Korean human rights issues.” will,” he emphasized.
In addition, the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation between South Korea and the United States while actively participating in efforts to improve human rights in North Korea by the international community, including the Security Council, saying, “It is necessary to properly inform the international community of the human rights situation of North Korean residents.”
In particular, Director Kim and CEO Kim shared the opinion that “the current severe economic and food shortage in North Korea was caused by the North Korean regime, which has been immersed in nuclear and missile development while ignoring the difficulties of its residents for the past 30 years,” and added, “North Korea needs to work toward denuclearization as soon as possible.” He also urged them to return to the path of improving people’s livelihood.”
The two warned again that “there will be a clear price for North Korea’s provocation,” and that “we will only face a strong response from the international community, including South Korea and the United States.”
In addition, in the phone call that day, the two sides agreed to thoroughly prepare for the possibility of additional provocations by North Korea based on a solid combined defense posture, and to continue strengthening cooperation to stop North Korea’s provocations and return to denuclearization negotiations.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.