Discussions regarding denuclearization provocative, DPRK says
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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea condemns the regional call for denuclearizing the Korean peninsula as a "provocation that violates its sovereignty."
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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, from left, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Chinese Premier Li Qiang attend a business meeting at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul, South Korea, May 27, 2024 (Getty Images pool via AP)
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) condemned Monday the statement issued in the wake of the trilateral summit between China, Japan, and South Korea, which underlines the parties' commitment to denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.
Pyongyang underlined that this commitment was a "grave political provocation" that violates the sovereignty of the DPRK.
The premiers of China and Japan had arrived Sunday in Seoul for their first trilateral summit in five years, saying the focus was primarily on economic issues rather than sensitive geopolitical matters.
The meeting saw the three agreeing on several issues, including security cooperation, and they also reiterated their positions on regional peace and stability as they also called for denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, and with there being no nuclear weapons in South Korea, the statement is obviously aimed at the DPRK.
Such discussion is an "insult never to be pardoned and a declaration of war against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)," however, a spokesperson for the DPRK's foreign ministry said.
"To discuss the denuclearization... today constitutes a grave political provocation and sovereignty violation," the spokesperson added. "Such a move denies [the DPRK] its inviolable sovereignty and constitution reflecting the unanimous will of all the Korean people."
Moreover, Japan's premier and South Korea's President called on the DPRK to cancel its plans to launch a second satellite into orbit, following its first in November, though China made no mention of the issue.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the relevant ministers to gather information, promptly give it to the population, and then jointly demand with the United States and South Korea that the DPRK not launch the satellite, the NHK broadcaster said.
Simultaneously, senior diplomats from Japan, South Korea, and the US had a phone conversation, during which they labeled the launch of the reconnaissance satellite as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions that prohibit the DPRK from launching rockets using ballistic missile technology, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
