Senior diplomats from South Korea, the US and Japan on Wednesday strongly denounced North Korea for deliberately escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, vowing to step up three-way coordination in response to its provocations, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The three sides took the stand after a Seoul meeting among South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, according to the report.
“We strongly condemn North Korea’s continued nuclear and missile threats, the complete severance of inter-Korean land routes and its claims of drone intrusions as deliberate acts of creating tensions,” Kim said at a press conference in Seoul.
The trilateral talks came a day after the North blew up cross-border roads in a move underscoring its commitment to completely sever ties with the South after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to abandon the goal of unification and treat the South as his regime’s “primary foe.”
Campbell said the US and its two Asian allies are “alarmed” by the provocative steps taken by the North.
“The US position on the future of the Korean Peninsula strongly aligns with that of the ROK,” he said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea. “We support the ultimate peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula,” he added.
The three sides also expressed deep concerns over reports that the North has sent its personnel to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine, a sign that, if confirmed, would mark a major development in the military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, apart from the suspected arms trade already highly criticized by the West.
“We do see signs of enhanced DPRK material support to Russia, which is being felt on the battlefield, both artillery shells and missiles,” Campbell said, without confirming the Ukrainian reports. “We are still evaluating those reports. We are concerned by them,” he said.
DPRK is the acronym for North Korea’s official name, the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Ukrainian media has reported that the Russian military is operating a unit consisting of some 3,000 North Korean troops.
The three No. 2 diplomats also said they are pushing for another trilateral summit among the leaders of the three countries before the end of this year and that they have agreed to continue making efforts to further institutionalize the trilateral cooperation framework.
The leaders of the three countries declared a new chapter in their partnership at the trilateral Camp David summit in August 2023. The summit produced a series of agreements, including the “Commitment to Consult” each other in the event of a shared threat.
Source: Kuwait News Agency
