The text of the following joint statement was released by the Governments of the Republic of Korea, the United States, and Japan.

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The Republic of Korea, the United States, and Japan strongly condemn the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) December 17 and 18 (local time) ballistic missile launches, including an intercontinental ballistic missile.  The DPRK’s continued provocations pose a grave threat to the Korean Peninsula, the region, and international peace and security, while undermining the global non-proliferation regime.  The unannounced launches also threatened the safety of civil aviation and maritime traffic in the region.

These most recent ballistic missile launches are yet again blatant violations of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions and serve as a reminder of the need for all countries to fully implement DPRK-related UN Security Council resolutions that prohibit the DPRK from acquiring technologies and materials to advance its unlawful missile program.  We urge the DPRK to abide by relevant UN Security Council resolutions and immediately cease all activities that violate them.

The United States reiterates that its commitments to defend the ROK and Japan are ironclad and backed by the full range of capabilities, including nuclear.  The three countries welcome the full activation of a real-time DPRK missile warning data sharing mechanism as well as the joint establishment of a multi-year trilateral exercise plan.

The ROK, the United States, and Japan stand together in opposition to the DPRK’s continued development of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs.  We reiterate how the DPRK’s human rights violations and abuses are inextricably linked with the DPRK’s unlawful WMD and ballistic missile advancements.  We will continue to work closely with the international community to block the DPRK’s illicit revenue generation funding its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs through the exploitation of overseas workers and malicious cyber activities.  We deplore the DPRK regime’s decision to divert scarce resources from the people in North Korea to its weapons programs.

Together with the international community, we call on the DPRK to stop conducting further provocations and accept our call for engaging in substantive dialogue without preconditions.