South Korean President Mentions North Korea During Meeting on "Hot" Weapons, Korea-Japan Consultations

On May 30, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for increased international cooperation to deal with threats from North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

Tổng thống Hàn Quốc nhắc tên Triều Tiên giữa cuộc họp về vũ khí 'nóng', Hàn-Nhật tham vấn

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech online at the opening of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) high-level forum held on Jeju Island on May 30.

"Despite UN Security Council sanctions, North Korea continues to illegally fund its nuclear and missile programs," President Yoon Suk Yeol said at the opening of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) high-level forum on Jeju Island.

"There is a need to strengthen cooperation to deal with such threats," the leader said.

Mr. Yoon stressed that the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction could pose a "serious threat" to international peace following North Korea's "unprecedented" threats.

In his own message at the forum, US President Joe Biden emphasized the importance of PSI as well as the need for a commitment to prevent, combat and end the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

This is the first year an Asian country has hosted the PSI forum, which comes amid concerns over North Korea's launch of its first military spy satellite in June.

Also on May 30, the South Korean Foreign Ministry announced that the country and Japan held their first bilateral consultations on disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in five years the day before.

Both sides expressed concern about the growing nuclear threat as well as North Korea's plan to launch a spy satellite in the coming weeks.

Officials urged North Korea to cancel the planned launch, which they accused of being a serious violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions that ban all launches using ballistic missile technology.

The two sides also exchanged views on challenges to the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime and discussed ways to enhance cooperation in relevant areas.

Source