The US, South Korea and Japan strongly condemned Friday the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by North Korea earlier this week.
US Secretary of State Antony and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts said in a joint statement that “this constitutes a clear, flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and poses a grave threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.” The statement added that North Korea?’s launch of this ICBM “threatened the safety of civil aviation and maritime traffic in the region.” “We will work together with the UN and the international community to ensure that UN Security Council resolutions that impose sanctions against the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) are fully implemented,” the statement affirmed.
The statement continued that the three countries will continue “to work closely with the international community to block the DPRK?’s illicit revenue generation through overseas workers and malicious cyber activities that fund its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs.” “The United States reiterated that its commitments to defend the ROK and Japan are ironclad and backed by the full range of capabilities, including nuclear,” the statement noted.
The statement stressed that the three countries will “further strengthen our trilateral security cooperation to effectively address the DPRK?’s nuclear and missile threats including by sharing DPRK missile warning data in real-time and by conducting missile defense exercises, anti-submarine exercises, and maritime interdiction exercises.” “The DPRK’s continued development of its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities will only bolster the resolve of the three countries and the international community to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” the statement affirmed.
The three countries urged North Korea “to cease its unlawful and escalatory actions and promptly return to dialogue.”
Source: Kuwait News Agency