1. On February 10, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met jointly with US Ambassador Samantha Power, Chinese Ambassador Jieyi Liu, Japanese Ambassador Motohide Yoshikawa, and Russian Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov from the Permanent Missions to the UN of the key countries involved in the North Korean nuclear issue. They discussed ways for the UN Security Council to respond to North Korea’s provocations, including its fourth nuclear test and long-range missile launch.

2. Minister Yun pointed out that North Korea has habitually violated Security Council resolutions, the UN Charter, and other international norms, including by conducting four nuclear tests and launching long-range missiles six times for the past ten years, and that if there is no firm response to them, it will not only seriously threaten global peace and security, but also significantly undermine the credibility of the UN and its Security Council. Minister Yun stressed that extraordinary threat requires extraordinary response.

o Minister Yun also said that the international community needs to make sure that North Korea pays a heavy price, such as additional punishment, for its repeated provocations. He also said that to prevent North Korea from conducting fifth and sixth nuclear tests, the international community, with the determination that the upcoming resolution should be a terminating resolution, needs to ensure the adoption of a strong and effective sanctions resolution which exceeds North Korea’s expectations.

o Minister Yun said that the ROK government decided on February 10 to halt all operations at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, because North Korea’s continued nuclear and missile development cannot be tolerated. Minister Yun also said that to make sure that North Korea pays a price for its wrong behavior, the international community needs to take drastic measures and make strong responses, and that the ROK government’s decision shows its willingness to actively join such measures and responses.

3. In response, the Ambassadors of the US, China, Japan and Russia agreed with the ROK’s view that this is a serious situation, and said that to make sure that North Korea pays a price commensurate to its nuclear test and long-range missile launch, they will make their best efforts to promptly adopt a Security Council resolution consistent with the Security Council press statements issued on January 6 and February 7.

o The US side stressed that the swift adoption of a strong and comprehensive resolution is needed to change North Korea’s behavior in the current situation where North Korea puts most of its resources into developing weapons of mass destruction at the expense of its people. The Japanese side said that Japan, as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, will play a necessary role in ensuring the adoption of a strong Security Council resolution, while implementing its unilateral sanctions, announced on February 10.

o The Chinese side pointed out that in addition to pressure on North Korea, efforts to hold dialogue are necessary for denuclearization and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The Russian side said that the latest North Korean nuclear test and long-range missile launch are a flagrant violation of international norms, and that efforts to induce North Korea to change its attitude are also needed.

4. Furthermore, Minister Yun met separately with Samantha Power, US Ambassador to the UN. The two sides shared their analyses of the current situation and discussed overall measures to respond to the North Korean nuclear test and missile launch.


* unofficial translation