U.S. Special Representative Sung Kim met his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Kim Gunn and Funakoshi Takehiro, after a U.S. assessment that the North was preparing its Punggye-ri test site for what would be its seventh nuclear test.

“We are preparing for all contingencies in close coordination with our Japanese and ROK allies,” Kim said at the beginning of the meeting, referring to South Korea by the initials of its official name, the Republic of Korea.

This year, North Korea has tested several ballistic missiles, including one thought to be its largest intercontinental ballistic missile, in violation of U.N. resolutions.

“We want to make clear to the DPRK that its unlawful and destabilising activities have consequences and that the international community will not accept these actions as normal,” the U.S. envoy said, referring to North Korea.

South Korea’s newly appointed nuclear envoy, Kim Gunn, said North Korea’s “relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons will only end up strengthening our deterrence”.

“The course that Pyongyang is currently embarking on has only one inevitable destination: reduce security for North Korea itself,” the South Korean diplomat said.

Last week, the United States called for more U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile launches, but China and Russia vetoed the suggestion, publicly splitting the U.N. Security Council on North Korea for the first time since it started punishing it in 2006, when it conducted its first nuclear test.

Japan’s Funakoshi stressed the need for coordination, vowing to “enhance regional deterrence, including trilateral security cooperation”.

The officials said the door for dialogue was open and expressed concern over the COVID-19 situation in North Korea.

“We have made very clear directly to Pyongyang that we are open to diplomacy,” Sung Kim said later at a separate conference in Seoul, noting that Washington was willing to discuss items of interest to Pyongyang, such as sanctions relief.

“So far they have shown no interest.”

The most important thing was for the three countries to present a united front to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the U.S. envoy said.

“When he sees that we are coordinating very closely with partners and allies I hope this persuades him that the only viable path is diplomacy with us,” he said.

China and Russia were clearly not interested in working with the United States to manage North Korea’s nuclear and missile arsenal, Kim said, when asked about their veto of new sanctions.

“We’re not asking them for a favour, it’s in their interest,” he said.

The United States would not link humanitarian aid for North Korea as it battles COVID to denuclearization, U.S. officials said.

“We passed the message through our regular channel, that we were willing to provide humanitarian cooperation focused on COVID relief including vaccines,” Kim said. “But we haven’t heard back.”

It was time to look for new approaches to North Korea because Kim Jong Un would never willingly give up nuclear weapons, said Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat who now serves as a member of parliament in the South.

“Nuclear weapons are the core to unite the whole North Korean people and ensure continuation of Kim family rule,” he told the conference.

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Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi, Dogyun Kim, Daewoung Kim, and Josh Smith; Editing by Robert Birsel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-south-korea-japan-envoys-meet-north-korea-nuclear-tension-2022-06-03/

The post U.S., South Korea, Japan envoys meet as North Korea appears to prepare nuclear test first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

SEOUL, South Korea – Ever since President Biden took office, North Korea has been escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula by testing its ballistic missile programs including its intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Experts in the region believe the Biden policy is failing and needs recalibrating, or risk yet another foreign policy headache.

NORTH KOREA MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR POSSIBLE NUCLEAR TEST: OFFICIALS

Since the beginning of this year, North Korea has repeatedly tested its missile programs and has already conducted the 19th round of missile testing on its various ballistic missile weapons. Following the unprecedented rounds of the North’s missile testing, Washington and outside experts have accused the regime of completing all the preparatory steps for its seventh nuclear test.

“North Korea is not at the top of the agenda for this administration and there’s little interest in fundamentally revisiting the outcomes of last year’s policy review based on new developments since then,” said Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.

Pandit continued, “Right now, there’s also probably little the administration can do to deter North Korea from proceeding with its military modernization objectives, which Kim Jong Un has committed to,” he said, adding that “the North Koreans are unlikely to reciprocate U.S. interest in talks until they’ve completed their modernization efforts.”

Considering the tensions on the Korean Peninsula due to the North’s missile test with the absence of dialogue between the countries, experts warn that it has demonstrated that the Biden administration’s policy on North Korea has so far been ineffective and cannot tackle North Korea issues practically.

NORTH KOREA FIRES BALLISTIC MISSILE AFTER MAKING NUCLEAR THREATS

Sung-yoon Lee, a professor at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, said that North Korea has not been responsive to the Biden administration’s overtures because “it is not the time [for North Korea] to be engaged [in the dialogue] but to increase its net worth.”

“Like an elite athlete conscious of his performance before the next contract negotiations, North Korea needs to enhance its net value, which means threat capability to the region and the U.S.,” Lee said.

Despite its messages to renew the stalled nuclear talks, North Korea has continuously tested its missile weapons and Kim Jong Un withdrew his self-moratorium on nuclear and ICBM testing in March. During a military parade this April, state media reported Kim saying that while the mission of his nuclear forces was to deter war, “our nukes can never be confined to the single mission of war deterrent even at a time when a situation we are not desirous of at all is created on this land.”

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kim-jong-un-prepares-nuclear-test-biden-approach-north-korea-failing-experts-warn

The post As Kim Jong Un prepares for nuclear test, Biden approach to North Korea is failing, experts warn first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.