WASHINGTON – The governments of the United States, Japan and South Korea issued a joint statement this Sunday condemning the launch of ballistic missiles by the North Korean regime and expressing their shared “concern” about the destabilizing nature of these actions.
In a meeting between the top diplomatic officials of the three countries in Honolulu (Hawaii, USA), Japan, South Korea and the USA promised to cooperate to achieve the “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula.
The Secretary of US State, Antony Blinken; the foreign minister of Japan, Hayashi Yoshimasa; and that of South Korea, Chung Eui-yong, called on the international community to fully implement the United Nations resolutions on North Korea and asked Pyongyang to “stop its illegal activities and open a path of dialogue.”
North Korea opened the year by announcing that it would increase its defensive capacity, which was followed by six tests in just one month with launches of cruise, short-range, hypersonic missiles and a last medium and long scope that was not tested since 2017.
Added to this is Pyongyang’s threat on the possible resumption of its nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, noting that it is considering resuming all its “temporarily suspended actions” in defense matters.
The three diplomatic officials from the US, Japan and South Korea also discussed the crisis in Ukraine and agreed to claim sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country in the face of any potential aggression by Russia.