Japan, China, South Korea to Urge North Korea to Stop Provocation
24 August 2016 13:44 WIB
TEMPO.CO, JTokyo - Japan, China, and South Korea agreed to urge North Korea to refrain from provocation and follow U.N. Security Council resolutions, after its latest missile launch towards Japan early on Wednesday, August 24, 2016.
Foreign ministers from the three Asian neighbours also sought to soothe their often testy relations, and have reached an understanding on a trilateral summit meeting in Japan this year, a Japanese official said.
"We have confirmed that we will urge North Korea to exercise self-restraint regarding its provocative action, and to observe the U.N. Security Council's resolutions," Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told a news conference after hosting the meeting with his Chinese and South Korean counterparts.
A North Korean submarine fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday that flew about 500 km (300 miles) towards Japan, a show of improving technological capability for the isolated country that has conducted a nuclear test and as series of missile launches this year in defiance of UN sanctions.
In the face of the North Korean threat, cooperation among Japan, China and South Korea was more important than ever, Kishida said after his meeting with China's Wang Yi and South Korea's Yun Byung-se.
Yun promised South Korea's support to realise a trilateral summit by year's end, as well as to cooperate economically and to achieve a successful summit of the Group of 20 big economies next month in China.
Wang said China opposed North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes and any "words or actions" that cause tension on the Korean peninsula, China's foreign ministry said in a statement.
China will continue to push for the peninsula's denuclearization, seek a resolution through talks and uphold regional peace and stability, Wang added.
The three ministers share the understanding that Japan will host a trilateral summit this year, though dates have yet to be worked out, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official told reporters.
REUTERS