MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th February, 2023) Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his South Korean counterpart, Park Jin, reaffirmed both countries' intention to intensify their bilateral cooperation as well as trilateral ties with the United States to enhance deterrence in the region and work together to achieve the complete denuclearization of North Korea, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
The officials met on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
"(The ministers) reaffirmed that they will continue to work closely together between Japan and the ROK (Republic of Korea) and among Japan, the ROK and the U.S. on the enhancement of deterrence in the region including security cooperation among the three countries and responses at the UN Security Council, towards the complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions," the statement read.
In particular, Hayashi and Park "strongly condemned" North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch on Saturday. According to the statement, the projectile landed within Japan's exclusive economic zone, approximately 200 kilometers (124 miles) off the country's coast.
The two ministers also stressed the importance for their countries to cooperate in tackling various issues of the international community and agreed to continue close communication "to pursue an early resolution of the issue of concern with a view to restoring sound Japan-ROK relations."
On Saturday, North Korea test-fired the Hwasong-15 ICBM, launching it toward the Sea of Japan, the state-run Korean Central news Agency (KCNA) reported. The launch was carried out from the Pyongyang International Airport and the missile reached a maximum altitude of 5,768 kilometers, covering a distance of 989 kilometers.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Saturday that the long-range missile had been fired at a high angle and could possibly travel 14,000 kilometers and reach the continental US territory if fired at a regular angle.
North Korea previously launched a short-range ballistic missile on January 1, which became Pyongyang's first test launch in 2023.
