SEOUL, President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called on North Korea to cease its plan to launch a spy satellite during their trilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Seoul on Monday.
The three-way summit, the first such session since 2019, came just hours after the North notified Japan that it will launch a space rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite sometime before June 4.
“All launches using ballistic missile technology directly violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, and undermine regional and global peace and stability. If North Korea proceeds with the launch despite international warnings, I believe the international community must respond firmly,” Yoon said during the meeting held at the former presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae.
Kishida echoed his concerns, urging Pyongyang to cease its activities.
“North Korea has once again announced the launch of a satellite. If it proceeds, it will be a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. We
strongly urge North Korea to cease this activity,” Kishida said through a translator.
China’s Li underscored the need to uphold the spirit of “openness and inclusivity” to foster cooperation.
“We will promote the full resumption of trilateral cooperation with an open attitude and transparent measures based on principles of nonexclusivity and nondiscrimination,” Li said through a translator.
Li also called for joint efforts to enhance cooperation through “mutual respect and trust.”
“We should resolve suspicions and misunderstandings through honest dialogue, uphold bilateral relations with a spirit of strategic autonomy, promote a multipolar world, and oppose bloc confrontation and factionalism,” Li said.
The trilateral session discussed ways to promote cooperation in six specific areas — economy and trade, sustainable development, health issues, science and technology, disaster and safety management, and people-to-people exchanges. The leaders adopted a joint statement on the outcome of the summit.
Sou
rce: Yonhap News Agency