US, South Korea urge North to return to talks after missile tests

Diplomats say Seoul and Washington comply with the necessity for a ‘sturdy response’ to North Korea’s exams, however are open to dialogue.

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, left, shakes hands with South Korea's Special Representative for the Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Noh Kyu-duk as they pose for a photo during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul.
US Particular Consultant for North Korea Sung Kim (left) meets his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk, in Seoul on Monday, the identical day the international locations kicked off joint army drills [Ahn Young-joon/Pool via AP Photo]

The US’ particular envoy for North Korea has stated that Washington and Seoul agree on the necessity for “a robust response” to North Korea’s latest spate of missile exams, although they continue to be open to dialogue with the nation.

Sung Kim and his deputy, Jung Pak, met South Korean officers, together with nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk, after arriving in Seoul early on Monday for a five-day go to.

The talks come a day after North Korean state media reported that chief Kim Jong Un had noticed the check firing of a “new sort of tactical guided weapon” geared toward boosting the nation’s nuclear capabilities. It was North Korea’s thirteenth spherical of firings up to now this 12 months.

“We agreed on the necessity for a robust response to the destabilising behaviour we've seen” from North Korea, US envoy Kim informed reporters after assembly together with his South Korean counterpart. “[We] additionally agreed on the necessity to keep the strongest potential joint deterrent functionality on the peninsula.”

US-led diplomacy to persuade North Korea to desert its nuclear ambitions in return for financial and political rewards has been largely stalemated since 2019, when former President Donald Trump walked out of a summit assembly in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The Hwasong-17 - black with a white nose cone - launches into the sky amid smoke and orange flame
North Korea final month examined a brand new sort of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasongpho-17 [KCNA/Handout via AFP]

The US has stated it's open to talks with North Korea at any time and with out situations, however Pyongyang has up to now rebuffed these overtures, accusing Washington of sustaining hostile insurance policies resembling sanctions and army drills.

Kim’s arrival in Seoul coincided with the beginning of a nine-day annual joint army drill by US and South Korean forces. The train consists of “defensive command put up coaching utilizing laptop simulation” and won't contain subject manoeuvres by troops, South Korea’s army stated on Sunday.

South Korea’s nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, stated he and Kim shared issues that North Korea will probably proceed to have interaction in acts that increase regional tensions. He urged North Korea to return to talks.

Kim stated the allies “haven't closed the door on diplomacy” with North Korea and have “no hostile intent” in direction of the nation. He repeated his earlier assertion that US diplomats are prepared to satisfy North Korea “wherever, with none situations”.

North Korea has beforehand responded to joint US-South Korean army drills with missile exams and war-like rhetoric. On Sunday, it stated it had examined a brand new tactical, guided weapon a day earlier that might increase its nuclear strike functionality.

Analysts stated the weapon was probably a short-range ballistic missile that may be mounted with a tactical nuclear warhead able to concentrating on South Korea.

Final month, North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile probably able to reaching the continental US in its first long-range weapons check since November 2017.

“This can be very vital for the United Nations Safety Council to ship a transparent sign to the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] that we'll not settle for its escalatory check as regular,” Kim stated on Monday.

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