Allies ready for follow-up N. Korea steps
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Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, center, holds hands together with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono during their joint talks on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, the Philippines, Monday. / Yonhap
Top diplomats of two Koreas have brief encounter
By Yi Whan-woo
The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan discussed possible follow-up measures to new U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions against North Korea, Monday.
This was the first joint meeting among Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono since the UNSC unanimously passed Resolution 2371, Saturday, to punish Pyongyang for two intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests in July.
The three-way talks took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila, the Philippines. All six members of the dormant dialogue on North Korea’s denuclearization, including China and Russia, were present.
“The three officials discussed how they can better coordinate and tune-up North Korea polices in line with Resolution 2371,” an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “They shared thoughts on possible countermeasures to be taken jointly against North Korea’s cycle of missile provocations.”
Kang, Tillerson and Kono were also believed to have reached a consensus on drawing support from China and Russia to effectively implement the new UNSC resolution aimed at banning North Korea’s primary exports, according to diplomatic sources.
Later Monday, Kang had separate talks with Kono, who took office Aug. 3 and made his international debut at the ARF.
Kang had a bilateral meeting with Tillerson, Sunday.
Kang underscored a need to bolster communication between Seoul and Tokyo, while Kono said he hopes to set up a new bilateral relationship.
The first one-on-one dialogue between Kang and Kono came amid a growing need to enhance joint security cooperation with the U.S. while untangling disputes over a bilateral agreement on former Korean sex slaves.
Kono was expected to be dovish over the Seoul-Tokyo row, given that his father and former Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohe Kono made a landmark apology in 1993 over Tokyo’s sexual enslavement of Korean women during its 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.
However, on his first day in office Kono asked Seoul to observe a sex slavery agreement made in December 2015. He turned down the Moon Jae-in administration’s argument that the deal was hastily made under the Park Geun-hye government and therefore should be revised.
Meanwhile, Kang said she had a casual conversation with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, Sunday.
The North Korean delegation previously said Ri has no plan to meet with her.
She asked Ri to “actively respond” to Seoul’s latest offers to resume military and Red Cross talks, claiming “They should be dealt with urgently and promptly by putting other political issues aside.”
“Ri still appeared to be questioning the sincerity of our proposal by pointing out Seoul’s pressure on Pyongyang in collaboration with Washington as well as the UNSC,” she said.
Kang met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Monday, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Sunday.