South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo delivers an opening speech at the fifth Seoul Defense Dialogue held at the Westin Chosun Seoul on Thursday.
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China elevated the issue on Monday, with President Xi Jinping expressing China’s opposition directly in a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye.
The North will continue to bolster “the nuclear force in a phased way in this historic year”, the spokesman said.
The UNSC had on Tuesday deplored the North’s test-firing of three ballistic missiles carried out a day earlier. “The most pressing task in order to accomplish global peace and stability is (resolving) North Korea’s nuclear issue”, said Minister Han in his opening remarks. The minister’s speech will focus on shedding light on the hazard posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, and rallying worldwide support behind the implementation of the resolution.
North Korea has been under United Nations sanctions since 2006.
The first plenary session was about the denuclearization of North Korea and worldwide cooperation.
Four hours was all it took for the UN Security Council to unanimously adopt a press statement against North Korea’s recent violations – namely its launch on Monday of three medium-range ballistic missiles off its east coast.
United Nations resolutions bar North Korea from any use of ballistic missile technology, but Pyongyang has nevertheless conducted a fourth nuclear test and a series of missile tests this year, prompting South Korea to announce plans to deploy a USA anti-missile system to counter such threats.
He reiterated that the U.S. will not recognize Pyongyang as a nuclear state, saying that the USA will use deterrence, pressure and diplomacy so Pyongyang “will not achieve prosperity while it flouts obligations”. Regarding the plan to station a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the peninsula, Obama stressed that “it is a purely defensive measure, stressing that Washington’s commitment to the defense of South Korea is unwavering”.
With North Korean missile programs emerging as an imminent threat, local experts said that the gathering of defense officials from around the world can help boost security in the region.
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“The Security Council must remain unequivocal and united in the condemnation of these tests and we must take action to enforce the words we put on paper, to enforce our resolutions”, said USA ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, after a Security Council meeting.
