On May 28, South Korea, the United States, and Japan’s nuclear envoys strongly condemned North Korea’s latest attempt to launch a military spy satellite, calling it a blatant violation of United Nations resolutions and a serious threat to peace.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the South Korean Foreign Ministry stated that Lee Jun-il, Director of the Korean Peninsula Policy Division, held a trilateral phone consultation with Jung Pak from the U.S. State Department’s North Korea Affairs Office and Yukiya Hamamoto, Deputy Director-General of the Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They discussed how to coordinate efforts to address North Korea’s launch of a military spy satellite on the evening of May 27.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry said, “The three countries strongly condemn North Korea for disregarding repeated warnings from the international community to launch a military reconnaissance satellite.”
The statement stressed that North Korea’s launch directly violates the UN Security Council resolution prohibiting the use of ballistic missile technology for launches, and pointed out that North Korea’s provocative actions pose a serious threat to regional and global peace and stability.
The U.S., Japan, and South Korea vowed to continue coordinating efforts among the three countries and with the international community to be prepared for any further provocations by North Korea, stating that such actions will only “strengthen the security cooperation between the three parties.”
Prior to the phone call, North Korean state media announced on May 27 that a new type of rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite was launched from a launch site on its northwest coast. The launch ended in failure as the rocket’s first-stage booster exploded during flight.
After two previous failures, Pyongyang successfully put its first military spy satellite into orbit in November last year. This latest attempt was to launch its second spy satellite.
Hours before Monday’s failed launch, the leaders of South Korea, China, and Japan held the first trilateral meeting in over four years in Seoul.
According to a report by Politico, some observers believe that North Korea’s satellite launch at this time may be aimed at creating tensions at the trilateral meeting and expressing dissatisfaction towards China. Kim Jong-un has been seeking to strengthen ties with Beijing and Moscow to form a united front against Washington, so diplomatic activities between China, Seoul, and Tokyo might unsettle Pyongyang.