Global Courant 2023-04-15 07:09:32
Allies condemn “in the strongest terms” Pyongyang’s latest weapons test and urge an end to “destabilization.”
Japan, South Korea and the United States have agreed to strengthen security cooperation in response to the rising threat from North Korea as they condemned the country’s test of its first-ever solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Defense officials from the three countries discussed the regularization of missile defense and anti-submarine exercises as a deterrent and response to North Korea’s “nuclear and missile threats”. They also discussed ways to resume trilateral exercises, according to a joint statement released Friday at the end of the 13th trilateral defense talks in Washington, DC.
They “condemned in the strongest terms the DPRK’s repeated violations of United Nations Security Council (UNSCRs) resolutions, including its continued provocations of nuclear weapons and missiles and illegal ship-to-ship transfers”.
DPRK is the abbreviation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.
The statement also urged Pyongyang to “immediately cease all destabilizing activities” and “reaffirmed that a North Korean nuclear test, if conducted, would be met with a strong and resolute response from the international community.”
North Korea last tested a nuclear weapon in 2017, but the rapid expansion of its military arsenal in recent years has raised concerns that it is preparing to resume nuclear tests.
Leader Kim Jong Un was shown in state media on Friday with his family overseeing the Hwasong-18 solid fuel test, which was described as a “marvelous success”.
Kim has ordered a rapid modernization of the country’s weapons with a record number of tests by 2022.
Developing solid-fuel technology, which is safer to use, easier to maneuver and faster to deploy than liquid-fueled variants, was an important part of Kim’s weapons development plans.
This year’s testing has been accelerated during large-scale joint military exercises by US and South Korean forces that Pyongyang says are rehearsals for an invasion.
Talks about denuclearization have stalled since 2019, when a high-profile summit between Kim and then-US President Donald Trump collapsed.
The three defense officials reiterated calls for North Korea to resume talks.
The “path to dialogue” remains open, the statement said.
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