US deputy secretary of state Antony Blinken (from left), Japanese vice-foreign minister Akitaka Saiki and South Korea’s first vice-minister of foreign affairs Lim Sung Nam conclude a joint press conference at the Japanese foreign ministry in Tokyo on Saturday. — AP
US deputy secretary of state Antony Blinken (from left), Japanese vice-foreign minister Akitaka Saiki and South Korea’s first vice-minister of foreign affairs Lim Sung Nam conclude a joint press conference at the Japanese foreign ministry in Tokyo on Saturday. — AP
North Korea said it could stop its nuclear tests in exchange for signing a peace treaty with the US and a stop to annual military exercises between the US and South Korea.
The North’s statement carried by the state media late Friday was a repeat of past offers that have been rejected by the US, which wants Pyongyang to commit to a complete abandonment of nuclear weapons.
An unnamed spokesperson of the North’s foreign ministry called the purported hydrogen bomb test on January 6 a justifiable move to ensure its survival against external threats.
“In response to the US continuously invading our sovereignty and making threatening provocations, we will acquire ourselves with all possible nuclear attack and nuclear retaliation abilities, but will not thoughtlessly use our nuclear weapons,” the official Korean Central News Agency quoted the spokesperson as saying.
Meanwhile, senior diplomats from the US, Japan and South Korea concurred on Saturday on the need for a strong response in the US Security Council to North Korea’s recent nuclear test.
US assistant secretary of state Antony Blinken and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts said on Saturday that a failure to send a clear message would risk further provocations by the North Korean side.
“The failure to take significant measures now almost guarantees North Korea will continue to repeat these moves,” Mr Blinken said. “It’s the opposite of what we seek in the region.”
The three said they agreed on the need for early adoption of the strongest resolution possible. But they did not give specifics of their talks, saying the discussions on a UN resolution were ongoing.
“If it’s not resolved now, in coming years we may have to pay a higher price and therefore we need a clear message,” said Lim Sung-nam, South Korea’s first vice-minister of foreign affairs.
All three said they were hoping that China, the North’s closest ally and chief source of aid, would also work for a strong resolution.
North Korea is urging the world community to accept it as a nuclear power. Pyongyang has said it could stop nuclear tests in exchange for the U.S. scrapping joint military drills with South Korea. It also is calling for a peace treaty with the U.S., echoing demands that were rejected by Washington in the past.
Blinken chastised North Korea for the “flaunting of its international obligations.”
“It has repeatedly rejected our engagement offers,” Blinken told reporters. “It’s hard to take any of their overtures seriously, especially in the wake of their nuclear test.”
