
Nuclear envoys from South Korea, the U.S., Japan and China are in Tokyo to take part in the ‘Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue,’ an annual dialogue on foreign affairs and security.
On the sidelines of the event, South Korea’s Lee Jun-il, director general for North Korean nuclear affairs at Seoul’s foreign ministry met with his American counterpart Jung Pak on Friday and stressed the need to call on China to play a constructive role in addressing North Korean issues.
The two sides also agreed to keep a close eye on possible signs of the regime’s satellite launch, while preparing against any attempts by the North to change the status quo in the West Sea, based on strong combined defense readiness.
Pyongyang put its first military spy satellite into orbit last November, and has vowed to launch three more spy satellites this year.
Last month, South Korea’s military said the North appears to be making preparations for its next launch, although there are no signs of an imminent launch yet.
Meanwhile, the day before their meeting, the nuclear envoys from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan met and highlighted the importance of maintaining close trilateral cooperation in addressing North Korean threats.
The three officials reaffirmed their commitment to counter threats posed by the deepening military ties between North Korea and Russia.
They also discussed human rights matters including protection for North Korean asylum seekers, as well as the issues of abductions, detainees and unrepatriated prisoners of war. Source: ARIRANG
