Japan, S. Korea Condemn N. Korea’s Satellite Launch

Reuters file photos
The Japanese flag (L) and South Korean flag (R)

Busan, South Korea (Jiji Press)—Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and her South Korean counterpart, Park Jin, on Sunday strongly condemned North Korea’s launch of a military spy satellite.

At their meeting in Busan, South Korea, the two ministers shared the view that Pyongyang’s launch on Tuesday clearly violates U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The ministers agreed that Japan, the United States and South Korea will continue to work closely in countering threats from North Korea.

Kamikawa protested against a recent Seoul High Court order for the Japanese government to pay compensation to former comfort women, or Korean prostitutes for Japanese troops before and during World War II.

The order is regrettable, Kamikawa said, calling on the South Korean government to act on it appropriately.

Park said that Seoul respects a 2015 Japan-South Korea agreement to resolve the comfort women dispute finally and irreversibly as an official agreement between the two countries.

The two ministers agreed that Tokyo and Seoul will cooperate in holding a three-way summit of Japanese, Chinese and South Korean leaders after a hiatus of nearly four years.