North Korea's recent missile tests were "serious, unlawful" provocations, senior officials from South Korea, the United States and Japan said on Wednesday, urging Pyongyang to return to dialogue and accept offers of COVID-19 aid.
South Korea Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori made the comments as they gathered in Seoul, days after North Korea conducted the latest in a series of missile tests and signs of preparations for what would be its first nuclear test since 2017.
The three-way meeting of the countries' No. 2 diplomats, the first such gathering since November and the first since South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in May, highlighted the urgency and gravity of North Korea's intensifying weapons tests.