US-ROK North Korea Nuclear Envoys Say "Clear Consequences Will Follow" for North Korea-Russia Military Cooperation

The chief nuclear negotiators of South Korea and the United States met on the 16th in Jakarta, Indonesia, agreeing to closely cooperate on sharing information and response measures related to military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

Kim Gun, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Office for Peace and Security Affairs on the Korean Peninsula, and Sung Kim, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, held bilateral talks that morning, during which they agreed that "North Korea and Russia must not engage in any military cooperation strictly prohibited under United Nations Security Council resolutions," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.

This consultation took place shortly after the White House publicly disclosed detailed intelligence on arms transactions between North Korea and Russia on the 13th.

Meanwhile, North Korea officially announced the planned visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the 18th-19th, raising concerns that discussions on North Korea-Russia cooperation could advance soon.

The South Korea-U.S. chief nuclear negotiators shared assessments of the grave situation on the Korean Peninsula, including the disclosure of additional evidence of North Korea-Russia military cooperation, and warned that there would be clear consequences for North Korea’s illegal actions undermining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the international community as a whole.

Both sides agreed to firmly respond to additional provocations, such as the so-called military reconnaissance satellite launch North Korea has announced for this month, and to deter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats based on overwhelming superiority in force.

They also stated that the international community will never recognize North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons and pledged to strengthen comprehensive efforts to induce North Korea to abandon its nuclear development, including thorough implementation of international sanctions.

In particular, they agreed to continue engagement and communication efforts to ensure that China, a permanent member of the Security Council and a country with influence over North Korea, can play a responsible and constructive role.

It appears that they also took into account the upcoming high-level exchanges between the U.S. and China, and between South Korea and China, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in the U.S. next month and the planned South Korea-China-Japan foreign ministers’ meeting in South Korea.

The South Korea-U.S. chief nuclear negotiators also agreed to work to prevent defectors from being forcibly repatriated against their will after North Korea lifts its border closure.

On the afternoon of the 17th, a trilateral meeting of the chief nuclear negotiators of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, including Hiroyuki Namazu, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is scheduled to be held in Jakarta. This trilateral meeting is the first face-to-face consultation since July, when the last meeting was held in Japan, and the first since Namazu replaced the previous Japanese chief negotiator in August. Kim Gun and Namazu will also hold separate bilateral talks between South Korea and Japan.

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