By Yi Whan-woo
South Korea, the United States and Japan are stepping up joint diplomacy in an effort to urge China toward taking concrete measures against North Korea in response to its latest nuclear test.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken will leave Seoul today and fly to Beijing where he is scheduled to meet Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Yesui.
Blinken arrived in Seoul, Tuesday. He visited Cheong Wa Dae and met with Kim Gyu-hyun and Cho Tae-yong, security advisors to President Park Geun-hye. He is scheduled to meet Foreign Minsiter Yun Byung-se today and defense officials here before leaving for Beijing.
It is speculated that Blinken will brief Yesui about three-way consultations involving Lim and Akitaka Saiki of Japan — held in Tokyo, Saturday.
In their joint response, the allies agreed to ask China to play a "constructive role" in pressing the Kim Jong-un regime for defying the U.N. ban and purportedly testing its first hydrogen bomb on Jan. 6.
The three agreed to push for "strong and comprehensive" U.N. Security Council resolutions.
They also urged China to join them in punishing North Korea.
Meanwhile, Hwang Joon-kook, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, met Igor Margulov, Russia's deputy foreign minister in Moscow, Tuesday, to seek Moscow's support for further sanctions against North Korea.
South Korea, the United States and Japan are stepping up joint diplomacy in an effort to urge China toward taking concrete measures against North Korea in response to its latest nuclear test.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken will leave Seoul today and fly to Beijing where he is scheduled to meet Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Yesui.
Blinken arrived in Seoul, Tuesday. He visited Cheong Wa Dae and met with Kim Gyu-hyun and Cho Tae-yong, security advisors to President Park Geun-hye. He is scheduled to meet Foreign Minsiter Yun Byung-se today and defense officials here before leaving for Beijing.
It is speculated that Blinken will brief Yesui about three-way consultations involving Lim and Akitaka Saiki of Japan — held in Tokyo, Saturday.
In their joint response, the allies agreed to ask China to play a "constructive role" in pressing the Kim Jong-un regime for defying the U.N. ban and purportedly testing its first hydrogen bomb on Jan. 6.
The three agreed to push for "strong and comprehensive" U.N. Security Council resolutions.
They also urged China to join them in punishing North Korea.
Meanwhile, Hwang Joon-kook, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, met Igor Margulov, Russia's deputy foreign minister in Moscow, Tuesday, to seek Moscow's support for further sanctions against North Korea.
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