South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun said Wednesday that the wording of a recent South Korea-U.S. joint statement regarding tensions on the peninsula was meant as a "warning" to North Korea.
Roh made the remarks in a meeting with Japanese correspondents in Seoul ahead of his first visit to Japan as a state guest, scheduled for Friday to Monday.
He was referring to a joint statement issued May 14 with U.S. President George W. Bush. The statement says, "While noting that increased threats to peace and stability on the peninsula would require consideration of further steps, they expressed confidence that a peaceful resolution can be achieved."
The threat came in the form of the words "further steps."