Kerry, who is in the Laotian capital to attend an Asia-Pacific security conference that includes North Korea, said its actions present a very serious threat not just to this region but also to global peace and security. He urged the country to follow the lead of Iran, which hammered out a deal to end its nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions.
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He explained North Korea’s presence at the ARF saying current tensions could seriously escalate, referring to the worldwide community’s response to its nuclear tests, including the unprecedented strong sanctions from the UN Security Council.
Ri, who came to Laos on Sunday to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) this year, has been mum on media questions seeking his remarks on the North’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and what he would say during the largest regional security gathering.
North Korea says it needs nuclear weapons to cope with what it sees as US military threats. The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea and regularly holds joint military drills with South Korea. Some members even insisted on including their concerns about the deployment in the chairman’s statement.
But in later comments to reporters, published by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, Ri struck a slightly conciliatory tone.
“The world is now talking about how we move to a world without nuclear weapons”.
Whether or not North Korea conducts another nuclear test will “entirely hinge on the United States’s attitude”, he was quoted as saying. One said she dreamed of being an ambassador to South Korea and was working part-time in a Korean restaurant to brush up her language skills.
North Korea’s top diplomat Ri Yong-ho, for whom the ARF was the first appearance at an worldwide event has defended Pyongyang’s nuclear development, and also held a press briefing after the meeting.
Kim said the north’s nuclear weapons development program goes against the worldwide trend of tamping down nuclear arms. In February, March, April, May, continually they have done missile tests. “Together we are determined. that there are real consequences for these actions”, he said.
Ri said everyone is doing nuclear tests, claiming he doesn’t understand why only the North’s nuclear ambitions are deemed as a threat.
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As the diplomatic big hitters such as US Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived the professionals appeared to take over, with burly men dressed in dark suits flanking their guys as they swept between meetings.
