Japan-Republic of Korea Relations

1. Prime Minister Abe mentioned the following: North Korea’s provocations, including its repeated nuclear tests with an unprecedentedly short interval and its progress in nuclear and missile development constitute a direct and serious threat to Japan’s security, seriously undermine the peace and security of the region and the international community, and are totally unacceptable; North Korea’s nuclear test is a repeated and clear violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks, and furthermore is also a direct and serious challenge to the international disarmament and non-proliferation regime centered on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the international community; The international community must firmly condemn North Korea’s actions and send a strong message that it will not tolerate any further provocations through taking concrete measures; The UNSC should promptly convene an emergency meeting, and it is also essential that the international community respond firmly in order to prevent further provocations; and I hope that Japan-ROK, and Japan-US-ROK, will continue to coordinate closely, including at the UNSC.

2. In response, President Park stated that this nuclear test by North Korea was a serious provocation and an outrageous act which ignores the voice of the international community. She also stated that she hoped Japan and the ROK, and Japan, the United States, and the ROK would cooperate in the international community, including at the UNSC, in order to increase pressure on North Korea.

3. The two leaders agreed that North Korea’s threat reached a different level from the past and required a new kind of response, and shared the view to continue close cooperation between Japan-ROK and among Japan-U.S.-ROK.