[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, and Japan strongly condemned North Korea's recent series of provocations, including ballistic missile tests, on the 27th (local time).
Foreign Minister Park Jin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa issued a joint statement on the day, expressing their stance regarding North Korea's missile provocations.
The three ministers stated, "South Korea, the United States, and Japan strongly condemn North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches and pledge to strengthen trilateral cooperation toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the full implementation of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions," adding, "We emphasize that we remain open to meeting with North Korea without preconditions."
They also expressed "deep regret that despite the support of 13 Security Council members, the UN Security Council has failed to adopt a resolution responding to North Korea's blatant and repeated violations of Security Council resolutions."
They reaffirmed their commitment to "strengthen cooperation with the international community to urge North Korea to cease its illegal actions and come to the dialogue table," and emphasized, "The path toward serious and sustained dialogue remains open, and we urge North Korea to return to negotiations."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
