Korea-US-Japan North Korea Nuclear Representatives "Firm Coordinated Response" to North Korea's Satellite Launch Plan

Phone Consultation on the 29th
North Korea to Launch Satellite Between 0:00 on the 31st and 0:00 on the 11th of Next Month

The chief representatives on North Korea's nuclear issue from South Korea, the United States, and Japan held a phone consultation on the 29th to discuss response measures to North Korea's announced satellite launch plan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

Kim Gun, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Office for Peace and Security Affairs on the Korean Peninsula, Sung Kim, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, and Funakoshi Takehiro, Japan's chief representative on North Korea's nuclear issue, strongly urged North Korea to refrain from illegal launches that threaten regional peace during the trilateral phone consultation held that day.

Our chief nuclear envoy Kim Gun, Head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters (center), U.S. chief envoy Sung Kim, U.S. Department of State Special Representative for North Korea (right), and Japanese chief envoy Takehiro Funakoshi, Director of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

They emphasized that any launch by North Korea utilizing ballistic missile technology is a clear violation of multiple United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and constitutes an illegal act that cannot be justified under any circumstances. They also agreed to closely cooperate at the trilateral level to ensure a firm and unified international response if North Korea ultimately proceeds with the satellite launch 'provocation.'

North Korea notified Japan, the regional navigation area coordinator of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), on the same day that it plans to launch a satellite between 0:00 on the 31st and 0:00 on the 11th of next month. Accordingly, the first military reconnaissance satellite launch that North Korea had announced has officially entered the 'countdown' phase. Since the launch vehicle North Korea will use to send the satellite is effectively equivalent to an intercontinental ballistic missile, it violates UNSC resolutions, and in the past, the Security Council adopted sanction resolutions in response to North Korea's satellite launches.

However, currently, even if North Korea launches an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), due to China and Russia's veto power, not only is a new sanction resolution impossible, but even a presidential statement condemning North Korea cannot be adopted. There are concerns that even if North Korea actually carries out this satellite launch, the Security Council's 'non-response' will be repeated.