Top diplomats of South Korea and Romania discussed the growing nuclear threat from North Korea with the latter promising cooperation to seek additional punitive sanctions against Pyongyang, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Romanian counterpart Lazar Comanescu held a bilateral meeting on Monday (local time) on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York and discussed diverse issues of mutual concern, including the North's nuclear threat, according to the ministry.
During the meeting, Yun asked for cooperation in drawing toughened sanctions both from the European Union and Romania, saying that the latest nuclear test conducted by the North is a provocation that violates the U.N. Security Council's (UNSC) Resolution 2270 adopted in March.
Reaffirming the country's support for denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, Comanescu promised to "closely" cooperate with the Seoul government in seeking additional UNSC sanctions and punitive measures from the European Union going forward, the ministry said.
Romania earlier issued a statement in which it expressed grave concern and condemned the fifth nuclear test conducted by the North on Sept. 9.
Yun also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Greece, Belarus and Ukraine later and asked them to cooperate with the Seoul government in seeking more sanctions against the North. In response, they renewed their support for South Korea in its push for punitive measures against Pyongyang, the ministry said.
The meetings are part of South Korea's efforts to drum up strong international support as the UNSC is working on additional sanctions against the North in response to its latest nuclear device detonation test. (Yonhap)