Roundup: U.S., S.Korea, Japan warn harsher sanctions on further DPRK provocations

High-level diplomats from the United States, South Korea and Japan on Tuesday discussed the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear and missile programs, warning of harsher sanctions against any further provocations.

The trilateral meeting was held in Seoul, involving South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki.

The vice ministers' meeting, the third of its kind, came on the heels of the three-way summit held in Washington on March 31 on the sidelines of nuclear security summit, where leaders of the three countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in tackling the DPRK's nuclear and missile programs.

The first U.S.-South Korea-Japan meeting of vice ministers was held in Washington in April 2015 and the second came in January in Tokyo.

Lim told a joint press conference that the three diplomats focused on the DPRK's nuclear program, which was centered during last month's Washington summit, to discuss follow-up measures for the trilateral summit.

Citing the DPRK's ballistic missile launch last week, the South Korean diplomat said Pyongyang has been continuing provocations, noting that Washington, Seoul and Tokyo agreed to strengthen cooperation to denuclearize the Korean peninsula that is the most urgent and important issue shared by the three countries.

On April 15, the DPRK launched a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile from a mobile launcher for the first time since the country allegedly began to deploy those mobile missiles in 2007.

The launch of the Musudan missile, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and reaching parts of the U.S. territory such as Guam and Alaska, appeared to have failed as it was known to have exploded in mid-air several seconds after liftoff.

Lim said the DPRK's further provocations will never be accepted, warning that Pyongyang will face tougher sanctions and deeper isolation from the international community should it conduct provocations again.

He noted that the three countries will continue to strengthen cooperation with the international community, especially with China and Russia, to create an environment where the DPRK has no choice but to abandon its nuclear program.

Pointing to the DPRK's Musudan missile launch, Lim said it was a direct challenge to UN Security Council resolutions that ban the DPRK's test of any ballistic missile technology and the detonation of atomic devices.

Harsher-than-ever sanctions on the DPRK were adopted in early March at the UN Security Council over the country's fourth nuclear test in January and long-range rocket launch, which was condemned as a disguised test of ballistic missile technology, in February.

Concerns emerged over Pyongyang's another nuclear detonation as signs of preparations for the DPRK's fifth nuclear test were recently detected, which was mentioned on Monday by South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

South Korea's defense ministry raised worries about the fifth nuclear test being carried out at any time, saying that another test could be an underground detonation of a nuclear warhead.

The DPRK has claimed that it possesses a miniaturized nuclear warhead and masters the technology of a re-entry vehicle, key to developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can reach the U.S mainland.

Top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un gave orders on March 15 to test a nuclear warhead and ballistic rockets capable of carrying such warhead.

According to U.S. and South Korean intelligence authorities, the moves of vehicles and personnel at the DPRK's main nuclear test site in its northeast region recently increased two to three times more than last month.

Some security pundits in South Korea predicted the DPRK's nuclear detonation to happen before the country's historic ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) congress scheduled for May 7. Enditem