The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan have condemned ballistic missile launches by North Korea, urging the North to halt provocation and engage in dialogue.
South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi made the call in a joint statement after talks in Hawaii on Saturday.
The statement said that the diplomats condemn the North’s ballistic missile launches and express deep concern about the destabilizing nature of the actions.
The top envoy called for the full implementation by the international community of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions relating to North Korea, while asking the North to cease its unlawful activities and instead engage in dialogue.
The diplomats, however, emphasized that they held no hostile intent towards Pyongyang and stressed continued openness to meeting the North without preconditions.
Chung, Bliken and Hayashi then reaffirmed close cooperation among their countries to achieve the goal of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and lasting peace in the region.
Source: KBS World Radio