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| President Moon Jae-in, right, shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe before their summit at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwon |
By Kim Rahn
President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have agreed to seek tougher U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs, including cutting off its oil supply, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.
A bumpy road, however, is ahead for their joint efforts as President Vladimir Putin of Russia, one of five permanent UNSC members, expressed his clear opposition to additional sanctions in a summit with Moon a day earlier.
Moon and Abe had their second bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia.
The summit took place four days after Pyongyang exploded what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb in its sixth nuclear test.
"The two leaders agreed now is not the time to seek dialogue but to impose ultimate pressure and sanctions on the North," Moon's chief presidential secretary Yoon Young-chan said. "They decided to pursue a new UNSC resolution with the strongest-ever sanctions including an oil embargo."
Moon and Abe will try to persuade Russia and China, another UNSC permanent member and North Korea's biggest ally, to accept the oil supply cut in the new resolution, Yoon said.
"It is important to prevent the situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula from getting worse and entering into an uncontrollable state," Yoon quoted Moon as telling Abe.
Moon said North Korea's provocations concern not only South Korea but also Japan, referring to the North's earlier launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile over the latter's territory in late August.
"South Korea and Japan, in cooperation with the international community, need to make efforts to place maximum pressure and sanctions on North Korea so it will give up its nuclear and missile programs, and ultimately resolve these issues through peaceful means," Moon was quoted as saying.
In response, Abe said he would try to persuade China and Russia to adopt tougher sanctions in the upcoming UNSC resolution, according to Yoon.
He also called for closer bilateral cooperation between South Korea and Japan, and trilateral cooperation with the United States to resolve North Korea issues.
UNSC's possible oil embargo
The UNSC is working on a new resolution for more sanctions on Pyongyang, aiming to put it to a vote as early as Monday.
Reuters reported the United States will demand the imposition of an oil embargo, bans on the country's exports of textiles and the hiring of North Koreans for work overseas, and an asset freeze and travel ban on the North's leader Kim Jong-un.
In a summit with Moon Wednesday, however, Putin said sanctions alone cannot solve the deadlock, virtually turning down his request for cooperation on cutting oil supplies to the North.
Putin said North Korea won't give up its nuclear program no matter what sanctions are imposed, and an oil embargo may harm North Korean civilians, according to Yoon.
Meanwhile, Moon and Abe did not talk much about historical disputes, such as a 2015 deal on sexual slavery, and forced labor during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation, to prevent these issues from obstructing joint efforts to deter North Korean from further provocations.
"The two leaders decided to deal with the history-related issues from a future-oriented point of view, so the issues will not damage the two nations' future relations, especially at this time when tension is high in all of Northeast Asia following North Korea's nuclear test," Yoon said.
Abe said he will seek to hold a summit of South Korea, Japan and China in Tokyo, asking Moon to participate. Moon invited Abe to visit Korea in February during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
