The United States, Japan and South Korea warned on Wednesday that North Korea’s nuclear test would trigger a “response of unprecedented force” and vowed to show unity after several missile launches by the regime.Kim Jong-un, AFP and News .ro reported.

Kim Jong Un at the launch of the North Korean ICBMPhoto: KCNA/UPI/Profimedia Images

The deputy foreign ministers of the three countries announced the strengthening of deterrence in the region following the meeting in Tokyo.

“We have agreed to further strengthen cooperation (…) to ensure that North Korea immediately stops its illegal activities and resumes negotiations on nuclear disarmament,” South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong said.

“The three countries agreed on the need to respond with unprecedented force if North Korea continues its seventh nuclear test,” he emphasized.

Administrations in Seoul and Washington have repeatedly warned that Pyongyang is on the verge of conducting a nuclear test for the first time since 2017 after a series of ballistic missile launches in recent weeks.

North Korea claims to have conducted tactical nuclear drills

Last month, a North Korean missile flew over Japan, and North Korea separately announced that it was conducting tactical nuclear drills.

“The units of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) responsible for the use of tactical nuclear weapons conducted a military exercise between September 25 and October 9 to test and assess the country’s nuclear deterrence and counterattack capabilities, which is a stern warning to enemies,” it announced. . This was reported by the North Korean press agency ACTC on October 10.

“All of these actions are dangerous and deeply destabilizing,” Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman condemned. She called on North Korea to “refrain from new provocations”.

Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Takeo Mori warned that “the intensification of North Korea’s nuclear and missile activities (…) poses a clear and serious challenge to the international community.”

The three countries agreed to “strengthen deterrence in our region with the aim of denuclearizing North Korea,” he emphasized.