Trilateral US-ROK-Japan North Korea Nuclear Envoys Urge North Korea to Cease Provocative Acts and Return (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The senior representatives for North Korea nuclear issues from South Korea, the United States, and Japan held face-to-face consultations on the 10th (local time) in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea's senior representative for North Korea nuclear issues and head of the Ministry's Peace Negotiations Division for the Korean Peninsula, met with Sung Kim, the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, and Takehiro Funakoshi, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Honolulu to hold consultations among the senior representatives of South Korea-U.S.-Japan, South Korea-U.S., and South Korea-Japan on North Korea nuclear issues.

The senior representatives shared assessments of the recent serious situation on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea's successive missile launches, and urged North Korea to cease provocative acts and promptly return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy.

They also reaffirmed the importance of trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan on Korean Peninsula issues and agreed to continue close coordination to achieve substantial progress toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace.

In particular, the senior representatives from South Korea and the U.S. held detailed consultations on various measures to resume dialogue with North Korea at an early stage, continuing their recent close communication.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "The three countries?South Korea, the U.S., and Japan?plan to continue more in-depth discussions on cooperation measures to restart the Korean Peninsula peace process at the upcoming trilateral foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for the 12th."

Meanwhile, before the consultations began, Noh met with reporters at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) in Hawaii, the venue of the talks, and said, "The situation on the Korean Peninsula is serious," adding, "Various signals, both words and actions, have been sent from North Korea at the end of last year and this month, which is somewhat concerning."

Noh added, "At this point, we intend to focus on consultations with the U.S. and Japan on possible ways to engage North Korea."

Regarding additional engagement measures, he said, "We have discussed various options, but we need to observe the situation," and added, "There may be special circumstances at this time, so keeping that in mind, we will discuss which measures could be effective and functional and will share them when the opportunity arises."

When asked whether the South Korean government's proposed declaration to formally end the Korean War would be included among the engagement measures, he replied, "The timing needs to be considered," and said, "At this point, we need to see how much effect it will have."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.