Original title: Foreign media: the United States, Japan and South Korea are closely following North Korea’s nuclear and missile program, the United States reiterated its willingness to engage in diplomatic dialogue with North Korea
Reference News reported on September 15 that foreign media said that senior officials of North Korean affairs from Japan, the United States and South Korea held consultations in Tokyo on the 14th. The three parties discussed and responded to North Korea’s test-fire of a new type of long-range cruise missile, and reaffirmed the policy of striving to achieve North Korea’s denuclearization through dialogue and sanctions. Officials from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed the news.
According to a report from Kyodo News on September 14 in Tokyo, taking into account the missile test, the director of the Asian and Oceanian Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kenhiro Funakoshi emphasized: “Japan-US-ROK cooperation has become more important in responding to North Korea’s nuclear and missile development.”
U.S. Special Representative for North Korean Affairs Kim Sung said, “I hope that North Korea will actively respond to the call for dialogue without preconditions.” Kim Sung revealed that North Korea did not respond to the US call for dialogue. The Minister of Peace Negotiations on the Korean Peninsula at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, Lu Kuide, mentioned the possibility of humanitarian assistance to North Korea.
According to a report from Yonhap News Agency in Seoul on September 14, South Korean Foreign Minister Zheng Yiyong stated in the parliament on Tuesday that North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un’s recent remarks on the continued development of nuclear weapons are mainly to send a message to the North Korean people.
According to the report, Zheng Yirong made the above speech when asked by the main opposition National Power Party member Tae Young-ho about whether the North Korean leader is committed to denuclearization and whether South Korean President Moon Jae-in believes that Kim Jong-un is willing to denuclearize.
Regarding the news that former U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo had a negative view on the denuclearization of North Korea, Zheng Yirong bluntly stated that he did not believe that all of Pompeo’s judgments were correct.
Zheng Yiyong expressed regret for Pyongyang’s recent launch of a long-range cruise missile, but said it did not violate the UN Security Council resolution. He also said: “We are working closely with the U.S. government and believe that our air defense system is still strong.”
According to a source on the 14th, South Korea and the United States are analyzing the movement of North Korea’s test-fire of new long-range cruise missiles, and have not yet mastered specific information such as the launch location and impact point.
In addition, according to a Reuters report in Tokyo on September 14, one day after Pyongyang announced the test-fire of new long-range missiles, nuclear envoys from Japan, the United States, and South Korea held talks in Tokyo on Tuesday to discuss how to contain North Korea’s missiles and nuclear programs.
North Korean state media announced on Monday that it had successfully tested a new long-range cruise missile. Analysts say this may be the country’s first such weapon with nuclear capabilities.
U.S. Special Representative for North Korean Affairs Kim Sung said: “The recent developments in North Korea remind us that it is very important for the three countries to maintain close communication and cooperation.”
The report pointed out that the United States, Japan and South Korea have been discussing how to break the deadlock with North Korea on nuclear and ballistic missile programs. North Korea has received international sanctions due to its nuclear program.
When Kim Sung met with the director of the Asian and Oceanian Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Funakoshi and the Minister of the Peninsula Peace Negotiations of the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lu Kuide, they said that Washington is still open to solving the North Korean issue through diplomatic channels.
The White House said that despite North Korea’s recent missile test, the United States is still willing to engage with Pyongyang. However, the Biden administration has not shown the willingness to relax sanctions.
According to a report from Yonhap News Agency in Washington on September 13, White House Deputy Press Secretary Karina Jean-Pierre said on Monday that although North Korea’s recent missile test activities pose a threat to US allies in the region, the United States is still willing to cooperate with North Korea. Conduct diplomatic communication and dialogue.
Jean-Pierre said that the United States is still willing to meet with North Korea at any time and any place.
North Korea said earlier that it successfully tested a newly developed long-range cruise missile last weekend.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on whether North Korea’s missile test violated UN Security Council resolutions, but reiterated the threat North Korea poses to its neighbors.
This imposition picture provided by the Korean Central News Agency on September 13 shows the test-fired long-range cruise missile developed by the North Korean Academy of Defense Science.Xinhua News Agency/Korean Central News Agency
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