SPECIAL representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, Kim Gunn, and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, held talks in the south-western part of Japan over matters concerning North Korea’s latest launch of ballistic missiles.
The talks were held in Karuizawa, in the south-eastern part of Nagano Prefecture in Japan, where the three leaders strongly condemned this provocative act by North Korea and discussed ways to effectively counter North Korea’s series of provocative acts through multiple test-fires of its ballistic missiles.
Kim Gunn said, and I quote, “Kim Jong-un thought that by heightening threats of a nuclear attack, he would gain respect and have things his way.”
“However, instead of being intimidated or conceding, the ROK and the U.S. have upgraded the Alliance through the Washington Declaration.”
“To put it simply, Kim Jong-un has reached a dead end.”
Kim remarked that the recent talks of the Nuclear Consultative Group were ‘particularly meaningful’ for enhancing their combined response to deter North Korea’s launching of ballistic missiles
However, the envoys reiterated that South Korea, Japan, and the United States are still open to a dialogue with North Korea and agreed to close communication and coordination to bring the country back on the path to denuclearization
