Jin Park, Blinken, Yoko hold three-way meeting over the phone
North Korea appears to have discussed a declaration of withdrawal from the military agreement.
The foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, and Japan spoke with one voice on the 24th (local time) regarding North Korea’s recent launch of a military reconnaissance satellite, saying, “We strongly condemn it for resulting in heightened tensions in the region.”
The U.S. State Department reported that Foreign Minister Park Jin, U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa held a three-way telephone conversation on North Korea’s satellite launch and criticized it as follows.
The diplomatic leaders of Korea, the United States and Japan met face-to-face at the Korea-U.S.-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in San Francisco, California on the 14th, and held talks again after 10 days.
They reaffirmed their position to continue close cooperation between the three countries to respond to North Korea’s provocations in accordance with the Camp David Agreement last August.
He also emphasized that the international community, including members of the UN Security Council, must work together to block procurement activities or imports of funds that support North Korea’s illegal weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missiles.
Secretary Blinken is said to have reiterated that the United States’ defense commitments, especially to South Korea and Japan, are firmly maintained.
The foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, and Japan are likely to have discussed the future impact and response plans in relation to North Korea’s declaration of annulment of the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement following the launch of a military reconnaissance satellite.
North Korea launched a military reconnaissance satellite at 10:42 p.m. on the 21st and announced that it had successfully entered orbit the next day. This is North Korea’s third launch of a reconnaissance satellite, and the previous two attempts both failed.
In response to North Korea’s forced satellite launch, the South Korean government on the 22nd suspended the effect of the clause restricting aerial reconnaissance in the area of the Military Demarcation Line in the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement.
Accordingly, on the 23rd, North Korea declared the withdrawal of the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement and announced that it would immediately restore all military measures that had been suspended in accordance with the military agreement.
[워싱턴=뉴시스]
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.