이원주
| 2023-08-29 15:38:50
S Korea-British envoy-NK
S. Korean nuclear envoy meets British ambassador to Pyongyang
SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top nuclear envoy met with the British ambassador to North Korea on Tuesday during which they discussed the North's evolving nuclear provocations and its recent attempt to launch a military spy satellite, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
Kim Gunn, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and David Ellis, also agreed on the need for the international community to make a joint response, especially as North Korea has announced its plan to launch another reconnaissance satellite in October.
"The two sides pointed out that the North's launch of its so-called 'satellite' on Aug. 24 despite repeated warnings from the international community is a blatant illegal act that overtly violates U.N. Security Council resolutions banning all launches involving ballistic missile technology," the ministry said in a press release.
They also discussed the possible resumption of North Korea's cross-border exchanges with other countries, following Pyongyang's announcement earlier this week to reopen its borders for its citizens abroad for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two sides agreed to cooperate closely to urge the North to abide by its obligations under U.N. Security Council resolutions, including the repatriation of all North Korean workers abroad, and to ensure that North Korean defectors are not forced back to their home country, according to the ministry.
Britain established diplomatic relations with the North in 2000 and opened its embassy in Pyongyang the following year.
Ellis was appointed in late 2021 but has yet to formally begin his work in North Korea since the embassy closed due to COVID-19-related restrictions.
(END)
[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]