US and South Korea Meet to Coordinate Response to North Korean Provocations

The United States and South Korea’s chief negotiators on North Korea’s nuclear program met in Washington to review and coordinate countermeasures against possible North Korean provocations. The chief U.S. representative emphasized the importance of trilateral cooperation between the U.S., South Korea and Japan, and stated that they would respond with coordinated independent sanctions against North Korea’s additional satellite launches. Reporter Ham Ji-ha reports.

Sung Kim, the State Department’s special representative for North Korea, emphasized on the 12th, “It is important to make it clear to North Korea that any act of escalating tension comes with a price.”

[녹취: 성 김 대표] “It’s important to make clear to the DPRK that escalatory behavior has consequences. At the same time, we have been very clear that we seek dialog with Pyongyang and we are willing to meet them without preconditions. We have also been clear that we support humanitarian aid to the DPRK regardless of progress on the denuclearization. We continue to consult closely with the Republic of Korea, Japan and other allies and partners about how best to engage the DPRK, deter its aggressive activities, and coordinate international responses to the DPRK as continued violations of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.”

Representative Sung Kim made this remark at a press conference after meeting with the US and South Korea’s chief North Korean nuclear negotiators in Washington that day.

“At the same time, we have made it clear that we are willing to pursue dialogue with North Korea and meet without preconditions,” he added.

“We are consulting closely with South Korea, Japan, and other allies and partners on how to engage North Korea, deter its aggression, and coordinate the international response, given North Korea’s continued violations of multiple UN Security Council resolutions,” he said.

On this day, when asked about the response to North Korea’s additional satellite launch, Kim said, “I think we continue to work very closely on sanctions efforts, that is, coordinated independent sanctions.” It will be above,” he replied.

[녹취: 성 김 대표] “I think we continue to work well very closely on sanctions efforts, coordinated unilateral sanctions. I think that will be on the table should there be another launch. And I think as Ambassador Kim explained, the dynamics in the Security Council remain very difficult. But I think we also have to consider how best to approach this issue in this critical context, because these activities are direct violations of Security Council resolutions.”

“The dynamics of the Security Council will continue to be very tricky,” he added.

“The credibility of the Security Council is at stake,” he said.

[녹취: 성 김 대표] “I think the credibility of the Security Council is at stake. So we’ll work together to find the best way to continue to pursue this issue of development in the Security Council. I think our military colleagues will also look at what they should be doing in response to the increased threat from the DPRK. So there are many different important aspects to our response should there be another launch.”

“Therefore, we will work together to find the best way to continue pursuing this issue in the Security Council,” said Sung Kim.

“So there will be many other important aspects to our response if additional launches are made,” said Sung Kim.

“The United States has taken concrete steps to defend ourselves, our allies, and our partners from the growing threat from North Korea,” Kim said at the meeting.

“This includes strengthening our extended deterrence commitment to South Korea and expanding trilateral security cooperation with Japan,” he said.

[녹취: 성 김 대표] “As I’m sure you have seen, we have taken concrete steps to defend ourselves and our allies and partners from the increasing threat posed by the DPRK. This includes strengthening our extended deterrence commitment to the ROK and expanding trilateral security cooperation with Japan. Of course, this effort received a major boost from the work the ROK and Japan have done to improve their bilateral relations. And we applaud their courage and coming together to advance peace and security in the region and beyond.”

“(Expansion of trilateral cooperation) has received a significant boost from the efforts South Korea and Japan have made to improve bilateral relations,” he said. I applaud you,” he added.

At the meeting, Kim Geon, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized various efforts made at the US-ROK and international level to discourage North Korea from developing nuclear weapons.

[녹취: 김건 본부장] “South Korea and the United States are making diplomatic efforts to realize that the international community’s will for denuclearization is far greater than North Korea’s will to develop nuclear weapons under close cooperation. South Korea and the U.S. are strengthening solidarity with countries with similar positions, such as the G7 and EU, so that the united message of the international community that they will never recognize North Korea possessing nuclear weapons can continue to develop.”

In particular, the United States and South Korea are blocking North Korea’s nuclear and missile development funding line, and presented an example of independent sanctions recently announced by the United States and South Korea.

Headquarters Director Kim said at a meeting with CEO Sung Kim that day, “We checked and coordinated South Korea-U.S. countermeasures against possible provocations by North Korea.”

“We need to make North Korea realize that nothing can be gained through provocations,” he said.

In addition, with South Korea’s recent re-entry into the UN Security Council as an opportunity, he said, “We discussed the response to the North Korean nuclear issue at the Security Council.”

When asked about South Korea’s approach to North Korea, Director Kim explained, “(Our) strategy is to force North Korea to take the path of denuclearization.”

[녹취: 김건 본부장] “It is a fact that everyone knows that North Korea is not showing any will to denuclearize right now, and in order to bring such North Korea to the path of denuclearization, eventually a holistic approach must be taken. Through dialogue diplomacy with… ”

“If these efforts continue strongly through solidarity with the international community, I think at some point North Korea will have no choice but to go in that direction,” Kim added.

This is VOA News Hamjiha.