South Korea and US "Firm Response to North Korea's Additional Provocations... Cutting Off Nuclear and Missile Funding Sources"

The chief representatives for North Korea nuclear issues from South Korea and the United States stated regarding North Korea's recent declaration to re-launch a military reconnaissance satellite, "We must make North Korea realize that it will gain nothing from provocations."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 12th (local time), South Korea and the United States met in Washington DC and agreed to lead a firm and unified international response to the possibility of further provocations by North Korea, Kim Gun, head of the South Korean Peace Negotiation Headquarters, announced. The two countries also agreed to work more decisively to cut off North Korea’s funding sources for nuclear and missile development.

At a press briefing following the talks, Kim said, "In the current situation where North Korea is showing signs of reopening its borders, it is very important for the international community to fully implement Security Council resolutions," adding, "If there were parts that had not been implemented due to North Korea’s border closures, now is the opportunity to strengthen enforcement."

He also noted, "Cybersecurity has been a focus area since I took office," and evaluated, "To respond to North Korea’s illegal cyber activities, which have emerged as a major source of income, we launched a South Korea-US working group last August, and through this cooperation, we have achieved results in freezing and recovering a significant portion of North Korea’s illegal cyber revenues."

This consultation was held amid expectations that North Korea would soon attempt to re-launch a military reconnaissance satellite after a failed attempt on the 31st of last month. The North Korean National Aerospace Development Administration stated immediately after the failure, "We will carry out a second launch as soon as possible."

Kim Gun, Head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters, is being interviewed by the press on the 11th (local time) at Dulles Airport near Washington DC, USA.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

South Korea and the United States also agreed to strengthen cooperation on North Korea-related responses at the UN Security Council level, which have faced difficulties due to non-cooperation from China and Russia, especially following South Korea’s entry as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Kim emphasized, "Next year, South Korea, the United States, and Japan will simultaneously serve as Security Council members. The three countries will actively work to ensure that the Security Council no longer remains silent on North Korea’s provocations," adding, "Through cooperation at the Security Council, we will closely coordinate to create momentum for North Korea to halt provocations and return to denuclearization."

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Sung Kim stated at the briefing, "It is important to make North Korea pay the price for escalating tensions," while also clarifying, "At the same time, we have clearly expressed our willingness to meet with North Korea without preconditions."

South Korea and the United States also agreed to strengthen cooperation to more actively raise awareness of North Korean human rights issues on international platforms such as the Security Council, as well as to promote improvements in North Korean human rights.

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