Japan, SKorea, China criticize NKorea missile launch

TOKYO

Japan, South Korea and China presented a united front Wednesday by criticizing North Korea for test-firing a submarine-launched ballistic missile and pledging to enhance their cooperation in dealing with Pyongyang during a meeting in Tokyo.

Local news agency Kyodo reported that the foreign ministers of the three nations reached an agreement hours after the latest projectile launched by the North landed in waters under Japan's air defense identification zone.

Japan’s Fumio Kishida, China’s Wang Yi and South Korea's Yun Byung Se reportedly did not discuss sensitive issues such as territorial disputes and criticisms of Japan’s attitude toward its imperial wartime history.

Kishida told a joint press conference that the North's latest launch was a "provocative act that simply cannot be tolerated" and the three ministers had affirmed the need to urge Pyongyang to "exercise restraint" and adhere to United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Kyodo also quoted Wang as saying that their countries “are opposed to North Korea's nuclear and development process and to any actions that raise tension in the situation in the Korean Peninsula".

The United Nations has called North Korea to de-escalate the situation.

“Not only is such action a clear violation of relevant Security Council resolutions, but they also undermine peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. "We again urge [North Korea] to take the steps necessary to de-escalate the situation and return to dialogue on de-nuclearization."

The UN Security Council was to convene in an emergency meeting Wednesday afternoon regarding the missile launch.

Pyongyang was hit by strengthened UN punitive measures following its fourth ever nuclear test earlier this year.

Despite its role as Pyongyang’s traditional ally, Beijing is treading a delicate path between cooperating with the North and enforcing sanctions as a means to bring about a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.

The South’s military described Wednesday’s launch as seemingly “aimed at raising military tension in response to the Seoul-Washington military drill", which is set to run to Sept. 2 with the participation of about 75,000 troops.

On Wednesday, the top diplomats also agreed to work toward gathering for a three-way summit hosted by Japan later this year.

"There are various outstanding issues among Japan, China and South Korea, but it is important to overcome them with political wisdom to promote cooperation," Kishida said.

An unnamed Japanese Foreign Ministry official cited by Kyodo said the ministers also avoided discussion of an advanced U.S. anti-missile defense system set to be deployed in the South despite objections from Beijing, which is concerned that it would be a pretext for Washington to spy on China.

In Washington, the White House stressed that the Terminal High Area Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system is a defensive system geared toward threats posed by North Korea alone.

"We believe this is a prudent step," spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters, adding the threat South Korea faces "is rather obvious to anybody who's paying attention.

"We don't believe that it should impair our ability to continue to work with the rest of the international community, including China, to apply additional pressure to the North Korean regime," he said.

The talks were also held after Tokyo lodged several protests earlier this month after Chinese government vessels reportedly entered waters claimed as Japanese territory near the Senkaku Islands -- which Beijing calls the Diaoyu Islands.

Disputes over the island chain had resulted in the trilateral foreign ministerial meeting not being held in 2013 or 2014.

According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, Wednesday’s missile launch “indicated [technical] improvements compared with the North's previous tests", Yonhap news agency reported.

The move was also condemned by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which described it as “yet another violation of [North Korea’s] international obligations”.

“Persistence in continuing such ballistic missile launches are clearly not conducive to assuring peace and stability in the region,” the ministry said in a statement.

Pyongyang’s last submarine-launched missile test occurred last month, when it appeared to botch an attempt that came within three months of its previous such test failure.