S. Korea, U.S., Japan's six-party representatives agree to strengthen cooperation on N. Korea...
한미일 "북 핵포기 않으면 자멸"... 석탄 수출 통제 철저 공조 Our top story this morning... South Korea, the United States and Japan have agreed to strenghten cooperation on countering North Korea's nuclear threats. The three sides also vowed to ensure sanctions imposed on the regime are implemented effectively. Kwon Soa reports. The top nuclear envoys from South Korea, the U.S., and Japan called their meeting in Seoul timely. As a result of the first trilateral encounter between the three countries in six months,... Kim Hong-kyun, Joseph Yun and Kenji Kanasugi vowed to work together to increase the effectiveness of the multilateral and unilateral sanctions on North Korea,... given the seriousness of the regime's nuclear and missile threats. "We warn that if North Korea does not give up its nuclear ambitions, it will eventually lead to its own self-destruction. We want the North to realize that denuclearization is its only choice." The nuclear envoys agreed to maintain a round-the-clock information sharing system... that includes close monitoring of the North's coal exports, in line with a new restriction on coal implemented through the UN Security Council's latest resolution adopted late last month. While China's commerce ministry recently announced a temporary suspension of coal imports from the North,... there are lingering concerns that it won't be easy to control trade between the two longtime allies. The three envoys said they will work on getting both China and Russia,... which are also six-party members,... to fully cooperate on the UN sanctions. But they did not seem to be open to dialogue with the other six-party member, North Korea. "Of course, sanctions are a tool, not an end in themselves. And we have long made clear that we remain willing to engage in credible and serious denuclearization talks. Unfortunately, the DPRK's response -- an escalating pattern of ballistic missile launches, nuclear tests and inflammatory rhetoric -- underscores that it is not ready." "While the representatives seemed to agree that the talks were productive,... there are concerns about the political transitions here in Seoul and in Washington,... that could be an obstacle in dealing with North Korea issues. The South Korean government remains on alert,... as it has said several times that Pyongyang could conduct another provocation at anytime. Kwon Soa, Arirang News." Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS): / newsarirang Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook: / arirangtv Twitter: / arirangworld Instagram: / arirangworld
