Korea, US, Japan agree to raise pressure on NK

President Moon Jae-in, U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pose before attending the Northeast Asia Security dinner at the U.S. Consulate General in Hamburg, Germany, Thursday. / AP-Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

Leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan have agreed to work together to strengthen sanctions and pressure on North Korea in response to its recent test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), officials said Friday.

The trilateral talks between President Moon Jae-in, U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took place at the U.S. consulate in Hamburg, Germany, on the eve of the G20 summit.

It marked the first three-way discussion since the inaugurations of Moon and Trump.

The discussion took place three days after the Kim Jong-un regime claiming it had successfully launched an ICBM, Tuesday, capable of carrying a large-size heavy nuclear warhead and striking the continental U.S.

“Leaders of the three countries shared the need for promptly adopting a stronger U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolution and imposing the harshest-ever pressure on North Korea,” said Seoul’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha during a media briefing in Hamburg.

Kang said they agreed to resolve the issue through “peaceful pressure.”

“They did not talk about military options,” Kang said.

The three sides also agreed to make joint efforts to persuade China, perhaps the North’s only ally, to play a bigger role in pressuring the North to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.

Toward that end, President Trump told his South Korean and Japanese counterparts that his government would consider economic sanctions designed to punish Chinese firms and individuals doing business with North Korea, according to a high-level government official.

Trump’s comment was construed as referring to so-called “secondary boycott” sanctions, which call for penalties for third party companies and individuals who deal with the North.

The secondary boycott is considered one of the last-remaining measures against the regime in Pyongyang. Such sanctions were imposed on Iran and made the country eventually accept a nuclear deal after lengthy negotiations.

“The purpose of such sanctions is to put North Korea in an unbearable situation and give it no option other than coming forward for talks,” the official said.

Expectation is also growing that Trump may ask Chinese President Xi Jinping to cut off, or at least reduce, the country’s oil supply to the North, during their meeting on the sidelines of the summit.

Earlier on Thursday, President Moon held a bilateral meeting with Xi, during which he also called for China to play a bigger role in reining in the North’s evolving nuclear and missile capabilities.

But it remains to be seen how Beijing will react to moves by Seoul, Washington and Tokyo to raise pressure on it as well as Pyongyang.

President Xi told Moon that the international community tends to downplay Beijing’s efforts to resolve North Korean issues, according to multiple sources.

Xi reportedly said China and North Korea have a “blood alliance,” stressing distinct characteristics of Beijing-Pyongyang relations. He noted that the fundamental principle of such an alliance would not be altered though many changes have been taking place, sources said.

During the G20 summit, Seoul, Washington and Tokyo are expected to ask for support from world leaders to promptly draw up new UNSC sanctions.

President Moon also mentioned the need to adopt a G20 joint statement slamming the North’s missile provocations.

Foreign Minister Kang said, “Adopting a joint statement is contingent on the decision of the host country. Germany will make a final decision after collecting opinions.”

The North announced Tuesday that it had successfully launched the ICBM, saying it flew 933 kilometers for 39 minutes “before accurately hitting a target” in the East Sea.