SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2022) South Korean envoy for Korean Peninsula security Kim Gunn has discussed situation surrounding North Korea with his counterparts from Japan and the United States, after which the sides called on Pyongyang to return to dialogue, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"If North Korea really wants peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, it is clear that the solution is a return to dialogue, and not more provocations," the ministry said in a statement following the phone talks between Kim Gunn, US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim, and Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Funakoshi Takehiro.
The diplomats accused North Korea of trying to shift the responsibility for increased tensions in the region, commenting on North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui's latest statement. They also noted that North Korea's nuclear and missile development cannot be justified in any way, according to the statement.
Earlier on Thursday, Choe Son Hui warned the US and its allies in the region that Pyongyang would respond in kind to Washington's efforts to bolster extended deterrence and intensify provocative military activities in the region.
On the same day, North Korea launched another short-range ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan. Since the beginning of 2022, Pyongyang has conducted over 30 missile test launches.
