Top diplomats from the United States, South Korea and Japan on Wednesday condemned North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches and called on Pyongyang to engage in “substantive dialogue without pre-arrangements.” This is stated in a joint statement of the three countries.
North Korea on Monday launched an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting anywhere in the United States, South Korea and Japan said. According to them, Pyongyang made two launches in a few hours. The Allies condemned this show of force.
The rocket in question is capable of covering a distance of more than 15 thousand kilometers, which means it can reach any point in Japan and the mainland United States. This was stated on Monday by Japanese Deputy Defense Minister Shingo Miyake.
“The United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea jointly oppose the DPRK’s ongoing development of illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin signed a joint statement.
“The launches, made without warning, also threatened the security of civil aviation and maritime traffic in the region,” the senior diplomats added. They called on North Korea to “stop further provocations.”
The United States and South Korea have stepped up joint military exercises against growing threats from the North, which has conducted a series of ballistic missile tests and launched its first military spy satellite in November.
North Korea said it has the sovereign right to pursue a ballistic missile program for self-defense and rejected the UN Security Council ban, calling it the result of hostile US policies. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un noted that Pyongyang will not hesitate to launch a nuclear strike if the enemy provokes it with the use of nuclear weapons, North Korean state media reported.
