Following North Korea’s completion of a third nuclear test yesterday, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed that he had separate telephone conversations with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and South Korean foreign minister Kim Sung Hwan last night and that they agreed to coordinate moves with other countries who are concerned over the isolated nation. Kishida added that his Australian counterpart, Bob Carr, also spoke and agreed for both their countries to work closely with each other and the other members of the United Nations Security Council.
During the press conference, Kishida said that he was in agreement with those he spoke with on the telephone that China is important in bringing about new UN Security Council action against North Korea and pointed the importance of pushing China over the matter. “We intend to strengthen coordination with the United States, South Korea, China and Russia, and advance cooperation” with other members of the council, and the international community, he told reporters. He added that the efforts necessarily include the adoption of a new resolution with additional sanctions by the council.
Yesterday, after the nuclear test has been confirmed, Shinsuke Sugiyama, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, agreed with Wu Dawei, China’s special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs, that the two countries should work together to denuclearize the peninsula, said ministry officials. Sugiyama likewise exchanged opinions with his counterparts from the U.S., South Korea and Russia, three of the other countries involved in the so-called six-party talks that aim to end North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. According to the officials, during the conversation with Sugiyama, Wu stressed that China made diplomatic efforts until the “last second” to convince North Korea not to proceed with the nuclear test.