US, Japan, S Korea confirm unity against North Korea

The US, Japan and South Korea today pledged security cooperation to deter the North Korean nuclear threat and asked the international community to vigilantly enforce the UN sanctions against the reclusive nation.
"It is important to the entire international community to vigilantly enforce the strong UN security measures that were passed in light of some of the ballistic missile and nuclear activity that Pyongyang has been engaging in," US President Barack Obama told reporters after his tri-lateral meeting South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
During the meeting they agreed that trilateral security cooperation is essential to maintaining peace and stability in Northeast Asia, deterring the North Korean nuclear threat and the potential of nuclear proliferation as a consequence of North Korean activities.

"In our meeting, we discussed ways to deepen that cooperation," he said.
"We've directed our teams to work diligently in the coming weeks and months to elaborate additional steps that we can take collectively in order to ensure that we have a denuclearised Korean Peninsula and that we can restore a sense of stability and peace to the region, as well as hopefully promoting the kind of opportunities and prosperity for the North Korean people who have been suffering so severely because of human rights abuses in North Korea," Obama said.
"In light of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia in the wake of North Korea's fourth nuclear test, just the mere fact that the three leaders have gathered in one spot in and of itself carries huge significance," Park said.

"On the North Korean nuclear issue, which represents a shared challenge confronting all three countries -- an urgent challenge -- today's meeting has led to in-depth discussions on what our three countries should do together in order to stop North Korea from upgrading its nuclear capabilities and alter its misguided calculus. And we further reinforced our coordination towards North Korea," she said.
Observing that leaders of three countries that are responsible for regional peace and stability have gotten together at one venue and confirmed the importance of the rule of law and actions based on rules, and exchanged candid views on a variety of regional and global issues, including North Korea, Abe said the meeting was timely and extremely meaningful.

"In light of the regional situation faced by the three nations, it is necessary to further promote Japan-U.S.-Korea cooperation in the area of security. A special concern is the progress of North Korea's nuclear and missile capability, which is a direct and grave threat not only to the three countries but to the global community," said the Japanese Prime Minister.