US-ROK-Japan Senior Representatives on North Korea's Nuclear Issue Condemn North Korea's Ballistic Missile Launch

Senior Representatives of Three Countries Agree North Korea's Missile Launch Violates UN Resolution
Urgent Call for Immediate Halt to North Korea's Additional Provocations

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The senior nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States, and Japan held a teleconference on the 4th to condemn North Korea's launch of a medium-range ballistic missile that passed over Japanese airspace.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on this day, Kim Gun, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters, held a phone consultation 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.

They agreed that North Korea's launch of a medium-range ballistic missile on this day, following four short-range ballistic missile launches last week, clearly violates multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.

They noted that the missile launched by North Korea passed over the Japanese archipelago and fell into the Pacific Ocean, agreeing that this launch poses a serious threat not only to the Korean Peninsula but also to the region and the international community as a whole.

They urged North Korea to immediately cease any further provocative actions.

The three countries' senior nuclear envoys also expressed serious concern over North Korea's continued escalation of provocations since announcing its nuclear force policy legislation on the 8th.

They emphasized the necessity of a firm international response to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and agreed to strengthen close communication and cooperation bilaterally and trilaterally regarding future responses, including measures at the United Nations Security Council level.

Earlier, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that at around 7:23 a.m. on the same day, one medium-range ballistic missile (IRBM) was launched from the Mupyong-ri area in Jagang Province, North Korea, passing eastward over Japanese airspace. This is the first time in five years since 2017 that a North Korean missile has passed over the Japanese archipelago.

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