Kerry, who is in the Laotian capital to attend an Asia-Pacific security conference that includes North Korea, told reporters Tuesday that North Korea is the only country that is moving in the opposite direction when the rest of the world is moving toward a nuclear-free world.
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South Korea warned its citizens in China and Southeast Asia on Tuesday of the risk of “dangerous acts” by North Korea after news reports said North Korea may have sent agents to those places to harm or abduct South Koreans.
“The Ministers shared concern over current developments in the Korean Peninsula, including the nuclear test on 6 January 2016, rocket launch on 7 February 2016 and ballistic missile launch on 9 July 2016, by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) which are in violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions”, read the statement posted on the ARF’s official Website.
“Together we are determined … to make absolutely certain that DPRK (North Korea) understands that there are real consequences for these actions”, USA secretary of state John Kerry told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of Asian nations in Laos. North Korea has been violating this for decades and also sending in patrols with heavy weapons.
“The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of peace and security in this region and reiterated ASEAN’s support for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner”, it added.
Ri Yong-Ho, Pyongyang’s newly appointed foreign minister, accused the U.S. of being behind the failure of the long-dormant 6-party talks on the country’s nuclear program.
As North Korea marks “Victory Day”, South Koreans will be able to watch “Operation Chromite”, the story of a scheme given 5000-to-one odds before it succeeded and changed the course of the war.
Footage of the original test has been released on the heels of the USA and South Korea agreeing to deploy the advanced U.S. THAAD anti-missile system before the end of next year.
Speaking at a press conference, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung, who led the country’s delegation of senior officials, considered the meeting a success after ASEAN member nations issued a joint statement on several regional and worldwide matters, including that in the East Vietnam Sea.
Kerry said one of the issues that came up in almost every meeting he had in Vientiane is the “very provocative and deeply concerning behavior of the DPRK”, using the acronym for the country’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Ri questioned the legitimacy of the United Nations sanctions, saying there is no article in the United Nations charter that says nuclear or missile tests are threats to global peace. “But there are steps that we can take to move in that direction”.
North Korea’s Ri met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Monday but few details have been released.
Beijing is Pyongyang’s main ally but its patience has worn thin.
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The North Korean diplomat said the USA recently “committed the most grave hostility by insulting our Dear Leader”, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, by personally blacklisting him for human rights abuses.
