US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday assured that the United States would work with its allies to stop North Korea from any “aggression,” a day after Pyongyang announced the launch of a new ICBM.
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“We are resolutely united in a common defense and ensure that we do everything possible to deter and defend against any aggression,” Blinken said during his meeting with Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers in Jakarta.
American commitment to defending South Korea and Japan “is set in stone and backed by all our capabilities, including nuclear power,” the three allies said in a joint statement.
Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have also agreed to act together to ensure existing UN sanctions are “fully implemented”.
“In addition, the three countries will continue to work closely with the international community to block revenues that the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) is illegally generating through foreign labor and malicious cyber activities,” with a view to funding their weapons program, the joint said explanation continued.
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin noted that testing of a new ballistic missile took place just as regional powers were meeting for talks in Jakarta, where North Korea had dispatched an official.
“What North Korea is doing is completely contrary to the expectations of the international community,” Park said.
“I hope that our trilateral dialogue today will strengthen our resolve to respond firmly and decisively — unequivocally — to North Korea’s ongoing provocations and send the message that their provocations will not go unpunished,” he said. added.
North Korea said leader Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the launch of the missile in April, which Pyongyang had previously fired only once.
The rocket traveled 1,001 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 6,648 km before crashing into the East Sea, official news agency KCNA said, using the Korean name for the Sea of Japan.
The launch was a “big explosion” that shook “the entire planet,” KCNA wrote.
North Korea rejected offers of talks from President Joe Biden’s administration while Kim Jong Un held historic summits with former President Donald Trump.