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Tokyo, Washington, Seoul agree to increase pressure on North Korea

The three countries of the six-party talks on the North Korea nuclear problem urge Pyongyang to halt provocative acts

TOKYO, June 1. /TASS/. Japan, the United States and South Korea will increase pressure on North Korea against the background of its continuing provocations. The corresponding agreement was reached on Wednesday at a meeting of the chief negotiators of the three countries at the six-party talks on the DPRK nuclear problem.

"We reaffirmed that North Korea's show of its stance to continue its nuclear and missile developments, including yesterday's experiment to launch a ballistic missile, is totally unacceptable," Kimihiro Ishikane, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau told reporters, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported.

Ishikane held talks with Sung Kim, US special representative for North Korea policy, and Kim Hong Kyun, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, in the Japanese capital a day after North Korea tried unsuccessfully to launch a ballistic missile. "We will strongly urge North Korea to halt provocative acts," Ishikane said.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, on Tuesday, "North Korea attempted to launch an unidentified missile from Wonsan, Gangwon Province, at around 5:20 am, but it is presumed to have been unsuccessful," the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a brief text message. The military is studying the details of the launch and is maintaining a high level of combat preparedness, the JCS said. Official sources said the launched missile was a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile.

In April, Pyongyang three times attempted to launch this missile, but all the attempts ended in failure.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula deteriorated after North Korea carried out a nuclear test on January 6, and on February 7 launched a carrier rocket with an artificial Earth satellite, in violation of the UN Security Council decisions. In response, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to tighten sanctions against North Korea. The document imposes a partial trade blockade on North Korea. UN member countries are now banned from purchasing the following from North Korea - coal, iron ore, rare earth metals, gold, vanadium and titanium. Deliveries of rocket and jet fuel to North Korea were also prohibited, along with any types of weapons and luxury goods.