BONN, Germany The United States, South Korea and Japan on Thursday issued a joint statement condemning North Korea’s test firing of a ballistic missile and saying Pyongyang should face an “even stronger” international response for violating U.N. resolutions.
The statement, which also condemned Pyongyang’s human rights abuses, was released after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 foreign ministers.
“The ministers condemned in the strongest terms North Korea’s February 12, 2017 ballistic missile test, noting North Korea’s flagrant disregard for multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions that expressly prohibit its ballistic missile and nuclear programs,” the statement said.
North Korea on Wednesday rejected a U.N. Security Council statement denouncing its missile launch on Sunday and said it was a sovereign right and a self-defence measure.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Madeline Chambers)
