Seoul, Washington and Tokyo's nuclear negotiators reaffirm cooperation on threats from Pyongyang

Negotiators on the North Korean nuclear issue from South Korea, the United States and Japan met in Tokyo on Thursday to reinforce their commitment to deepening cooperation.

Lee Jun-il, director-general for North Korean nuclear affairs at South Korea’s Foreign Ministry and Jung Pak, U.S. Senior Official for North Korea, speak during a meeting in Toyko on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Negotiators on the North Korean nuclear issue from South Korea, the United States and Japan met in Tokyo on Thursday to reinforce their commitment to deepening cooperation.

Lee Jun-il, director-general for North Korean nuclear affairs at South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, Jung Pak, U.S. senior official for North Korea, and Hiroyuki Namazu, director general for Asian and Oceanian Affairs at Japan’s Foreign Ministry, underscored their determination to confront the “grave” security threats posed by North Korea's provocations, illicit weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs and deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, the U.S. State Department said.

The top officials from the three countries also emphasized the importance of maintaining close cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan in addressing these threats, promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and resuming dialogue and diplomacy with North Korea.

“The three sides underscored their continued resolve in the face of the grave security threats posed by the DPRK’s provocations, unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, and deepening military cooperation with Russia,” the U.S. State Department said in a release. The DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name.

“The three sides also underscored the value of cooperation in addressing the many human rights and humanitarian challenges created by the DPRK, including protections for North Korean asylum seekers and the need for the immediate resolution of the issues of abductions, detainees, and unrepatriated prisoners of war,” the State Department release continued.

Separately, Pak also met with China’s Special Representative on Korean Peninsula Affairs Liu Xiaoming in Tokyo on the same day. Pak “noted the continued threat posed to regional and global security by the DPRK’s unlawful nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, as well as its provocative and irresponsible rhetoric toward its neighbors,” according to the State Department.

The issue of forcible repatriation of North Koreans, including asylum seekers, to North Korea by China was also mentioned during Pak’s and Liu’s meeting, and Pak called on Beijing to uphold its non-refoulement obligations.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]