▲ South Korean chief nuclear negotiator Kim Gunn (C) poses for a photo with his U.S. counterpart, Sung Kim (R), and Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, prior to talks on North Korea's denuclearization at the foreign ministry in Seoul on April 7, 2023. (Yonhap)

nuke envoys-NK space launch

Nuke envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan 'strongly condemn' N.K. space launch

SEOUL, May 31 (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Wednesday "strongly condemned" North Korea's launch of what it claimed to be a "space launch vehicle," Seoul's foreign ministry said.

Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn, and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, delivered the joint message in a conference call after Pyongyang announced that it launched a rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite earlier in the day.

The North said the launch resulted in failure due to an engine problem and that it plans to carry out a second launch "as soon as possible."

According to the ministry, the three sides "strongly condemned North Korea's act of conducting launches that violate international law, and threaten the peace and stability of the international community."

They also stressed that any launch by Pyongyang using ballistic missile technology is a clear violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions. They emphasized that the North's latest launch cannot be justified in any way.

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