North Korea is “always welcome” at the negotiating table even though the threat of further provocation might be looming, Japan’s nuclear envoy said yesterday ahead of a meeting with his US and South Korean counterparts.
The three nations, which met in Tokyo to discuss their North Korea strategy, are tightening security cooperation as tension rises in the wake of recent North Korean moves such as an unusual number of missile launches and warnings from Washington that Pyongyang could sell weapons to Russia.
Yesterday’s meeting came after trilateral talks held over the past two months, including a gathering of security advisers from the three nations in Hawaii last week amid signs North Korea might be about to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017.
Photo: AP
“North Korea is continuing and even accelerating its nuclear and missile capabilities, and there is a looming chance of further provocation, including a nuclear test,” Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director-General Takehiro Funakoshi said before the discussions.
“At the same time, we remain open to entertaining dialogue with North Korea,” he said, adding that Pyongyang was always welcome at negotiations — a sentiment US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim and South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Gunn echoed.
North Korea has conducted missile tests at an unprecedented pace this year.
Last month, North Korea fired two cruise missiles from its west coast after South Korea and the US resumed their largest field exercises in years. Pyongyang has long denounced the exercises as a rehearsal for war.
South Korean National Security Office Director Kim Sung-han said after the Hawaii meeting that he and his counterparts had agreed there would not be a “soft” response if North Korea conducted a nuclear test. He did not give details, but the government has previously mentioned more sanctions.
An additional concern is that North Korea might sell arms to Russia, its old Cold War ally.
The White House on Tuesday said that Russia could be about to buy “literally millions” of artillery shells and rockets from Pyongyang, but that it had no indication that the purchase had actually occurred.
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