U.S., Japan, and South Korea pledge firm response to North Korea for nuclear missile tests

Record ID: 76943

  • Title: U.S., Japan, and South Korea pledge firm response to North Korea for nuclear missile tests
  • Date: 13th December 2016
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (DECEMBER 13, 2016) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** U.S. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR NORTH KOREA POLICY, JOSEPH Y. YUN (LEFT), SOUTH KOREA'S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR KOREAN PENINSULA PEACE AND SECURITY AFFAIRS, KIM HONG-KYUN (CENTRE), AND JAPANESE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ASIAN AND OCEANIAN AFFAIRS BUREAU, KENJI KANASUGI (RIGHT), ENTERING MEETING ROOM AND STANDING YUN (LEFT), KIM (CENTRE) AND KANASUGI (RIGHT) POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS YUN (FOURTH FROM LEFT) SPEAKING AND U.S. OFFICIALS LISTENING YUN SPEAKING JAPANESE OFFICIALS LISTENING KANASUGI SPEAKING KIM (CENTRE) SEATED WITH SOUTH KOREAN OFFICIALS KIM SPEAKING MEETING IN PROGRESS YUN (LEFT), KIM (CENTRE) AND KANASUGI (RIGHT) IN BRIEFING ROOM MEDIA IN BRIEFING ROOM YUN (LEFT) SPEAKING AND KIM (CENTRE) AND KANASUGI (RIGHT) LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR NORTH KOREA POLICY, JOSEPH Y. YUN, SAYING: "(There is) an important domestic transition going on both in Washington and Seoul. And I'm sure like everyone else, North Koreans are watching those transitions carefully. And so it is also an opportunity to them to see what can be done for ultimate goal of peaceful denuclearization. But so far, of course we have not seen any signs that they want to engage in meaningful way. And so for us, it is very important to impose costs on their behaviour and this is why we've done sanctions as well as other measures." KIM (CENTRE) SPEAKING AND YUN (LEFT) AND KANASUGI (RIGHT) LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) SOUTH KOREA'S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR KOREAN PENINSULA PEACE AND SECURITY AFFAIRS, KIM HONG-KYUN, SAYING: "Above all, we will maintain a continuous information exchange system between South Korea, the United States and Japan and capital of various countries including New York state in order to investigate a thorough implementation of various money blocking measures for North Korea and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2321, which restricts the North's annual coal exports." YUN (LEFT), KIM (CENTRE) AND KANASUGI (RIGHT) STANDING AT PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ASIAN AND OCEANIAN AFFAIRS BUREAU, KENJI KANASUGI, SAYING: "During this meeting, we were able to agree to Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. working together closely, along with China and Russia, about this issue." KIM (CENTRE) SHAKING HANDS WITH YUN (LEFT) AND KANASUGI (RIGHT)
  • Embargoed: 28th December 2016 07:11
  • Keywords: U.S. South Korea Japan North Korea Nuclear
  • Location: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
  • City: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
  • Country: South Korea
  • Reuters ID: LVA0015CPV0AT
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Nuclear envoys from the U.S., South Korea, and Japan agreed on Tuesday (December 13) to work closely together to impose sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear missile tests.
    The trilateral meeting was attended by U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy, Joseph Y. Yun, his South Korean counterpart Kim Hong-kyun, and Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi. This is the first time the three are meeting after the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions against North Korea in late November.
    The UN sanctions were imposed on November 30 aimed at cutting North Korea's annual export revenue by a quarter in response to Pyongyang's fifth and largest nuclear test in September.
    Amid South Korea's political scandal and the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration, Yun said that there should be no doubt as to the enduring strength and value of the alliance.
    "(There is) important domestic transition going on both in Washington and Seoul. And I'm sure like everyone else North Koreans are watching those transitions carefully. And so it is also opportunity to them to see what can be done for ultimate goal of peaceful denuclearization. But so far, of course we have not seen any signs that they want to engage in meaningful way. And so for us, it is very important to impose costs on their behaviour and this is why we've done sanctions as well as other measures," Yun said after the meeting.
    The 15-member UN council unanimously adopted a resolution to slash North Korea's biggest export, coal, by about 60 percent with an annual sales cap of $400.9 million (USD) or 7.5 million metric tons, whichever is lower.
    "Above all, we will maintain a continuous information exchange system between South Korea, the United States and Japan and capital of various countries including New York state in order to investigate a thorough implementation of various money blocking measures for North Korea and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2321, which restricts the North's annual coal exports," Kim said.
    The Japanese envoy said that North Korea couldn't be engaged in dialogues at this point and neighbouring countries should cooperate to solve this issue.
    "During this meeting, we were able to agree to Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. working together closely, along with China and Russia, about this issue," he said.
    North Korea has rejected the U.N. resolution as a conspiracy masterminded by the United States to deny its sovereignty.
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