Germany, France and the UK are urging North Korea to negotiate with the US. The move comes after North Korea's most recent string of ballistic missile launches.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo/KCNA/Korea News Service
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US allies slammed North Korea's "repeated provocative launches" of ballistic missiles Tuesday.
"We reiterate our condemnation of such repeated provocative launches, which are violations of UN Security Council Resolutions," Germany, France and the UK said in a statement issued by Deputy German UN Ambassador Jürgen Schulz.
The statement came after a closed UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday. The trio of countries requested the meeting because of serious apprehensions regarding North Korea's recent spate of missile launches, calling on the country "to engage in meaningful negotiations with the US" as agreed between President Trump and Kim Jong Un at the end of June at their meeting in the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas.
The three countries asserted that "international sanctions must remain in place and be fully and strictly enforced until North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs are dismantled."
"Serious efforts by North Korea to reengage diplomatically and make progress on denuclearization are the only way to guarantee security and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the region," their statement said.
North Korea launched a new series of missile tests in recent months, most recently on Saturday, when two missiles were fired from the eastern coast into the sea. A day later, North Korea said that Kim Jong Un supervised the test-firing of a "newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher."
Pyongyang said its current tests are in response to joint military exercises implemented between the US and South Korea, which have been a source of tension in the past.
The statement from the US allies was at odds with US President Donald Trump's comments downplaying the launches. Negotiations between the US and North Korea have been on hold since the second Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi in February collapsed.
Pyongyang and Washington are trying to relaunch the talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program and economic sanctions.
UN resolutions bar North Korea from launching short-, medium- or long-range ballistic missiles.
mmc/aw (AP, dpa)
'Handshake for peace' – Trump crosses into North Korea
US President Trump and North Korean leader Kim have met once again, this time in the Demilitarized Zone. In a largely symbolic meeting, Trump and Kim hailed their personal close relationship amid stalled nuclear talks.
Image: Reuters/U.S. Network Pool
Third Kim-Trump meeting
It was the third meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in just over a year. The first Trump-Kim summit took place in Singapore in June last year. A meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, was held in February 2019. Both meetings failed to provide a clear roadmap for North Korea's denuclearization.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/B. Smialowski
Making history
Trump made history on June 30 with his latest encounter with Kim. He's the first sitting US president to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides South and North Korea. Trump briefly crossed into North Korea as he shook hands with Kim. He said he was "proud to step over the line."
Image: AFP/Getty Images/B. Smialowski
Watching over the North
Prior to his meeting with Kim, Trump flew to the DMZ with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The US president met with South Korean and American troops as he watched over North Korea from a military post in the DMZ. US presidents in the past have visited American troops on the South Korean side but not set foot in the DMZ.
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
'Great friendship'
From calling Kim Jong Un "little rocket man" to someone he has a "certain chemistry" with, Trump has come a long way in his dealing with North Korea. On June 30, he once again emphasized his personal ties with the North Korean dictator. Kim, too, hailed his "wonderful" relationship with Trump, saying the latest meeting would enable nuclear talks.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/B. Smialowski
'In no rush'
Washington and Pyongyang blame each other for the impasse over nuclear talks, but Trump is hopeful for a breakthrough. Although his previous two meetings with the North Korean leader didn't yield any result, Trump said he was "in no rush" to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Image: picture-alliance/Yonhapnews Agency
Regime survival
Experts have warned that North Korea may never agree to fully give up its nuclear ambitions, which they say Pyongyang views as vital for regime survival. In March, new satellite imagery suggested that North Korea started rebuilding a rocket launch site before Kim and Trump's Vietnam summit in Feruary. The site had been dismantled last year as part of Kim's denuclearization pledge.
