US, Tokyo, Seoul to boost deterrence over possible Pyongyang nuclear test

Tokyo, Oct 26 (EFE).- The United States, Japan and South Korea said on Wednesday that they would seek to strengthen deterrence against North Korea in case the regime carries out a new nuclear test, after it test-fired missiles at an unprecedented rate in recent weeks.

The deputy foreign ministers of the three allies conveyed this message to North Korea through a joint declaration signed during a meeting held in Tokyo on Wednesday, in which the situation in the Korean peninsula formed the main agenda.

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Takeo Mori and his South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun-dong highlighted the serious challenge posed to the international community by Pyongyang intensifying its weapons related activities

The statement said that in case of fresh provocations, such as a nuclear test, the three sides agreed to boost cooperation, strengthen deterrence and deepen diplomatic ties.

Sherman reiterated Washington’s commitment to protect its allies, and stressed that all three nations shared the objective of the complete denuclearization of Korea, despite continued weapons development by the regime led by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The number two of US diplomacy said that her country was not just concerned by the display of muscle by the North, but also by indications that the successive tests by Pyongyang were paving the way for the use of a tactical nuclear weapon.

If the regime carries out a new nuclear test – set to be the first since 2017 – it would be a very “destabilizing” and dangerous act not just for the region but the entire world, Sherman said.

However, the three allies insisted that they had also kept the door open for a dialog without preconditions with the North in case the regime agreed to this.

Along with military deterrence, Washington, Seoul and Tokyo also aim to intensify diplomatic pressure on North Korea, particularly through additional sanctions against the already isolated country tabled in the United Nations Security Council. in case the regime carries out its seventh nuclear test.

The three allies have repeatedly expressed concern and condemned the constant arms tests by Pyongyang, which has launched missiles at an unprecedented rate since late September.

Moreover, North and South Korea also exchanged artillery fire along their border on several occasions in recent days. which along with the military drills in the region by the US and its allies, has elevated tensions even further, to levels unprecedented in the last five years. EFE

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