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As the possibility of North Korea's seventh nuclear test provocation has greatly increased, the chief representatives of North Korea, the United States and Japan, discussed countermeasures.



Reporter Lee Dae-wook covered the story.



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Kim Geon, Director of the Korean Peninsula Peace Relations Headquarters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sung Kim, Special Representative for North Korea at the US State Department, and Takehiro Funakoshi, Director of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, the US and Japan, the chief representative of North Korea.



It is the first face-to-face meeting between the two Koreas, the U.S. and Japan, in four months, and the first since the launch of the Yun Seok-yeol government.



[Sung Kim/US State Department Special Representative for North Korea: The three countries are continuously discussing and cooperating to respond to the threat of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.]



Representatives from South Korea, the United States and Japan shared the North's nuclear test-related movements, and In the event of a provocation, we discussed intensively how to cooperate for a strong response.



As it is very difficult for the UN Security Council to pass a new sanctions resolution on North Korea due to China and Russia's exercise of their veto power, the three countries have sought countermeasures such as securing independent means of pressure.



The series of contacts between South Korea, the US and Japan to respond to the North Korean issue will continue for the month of June.



Next week, the first Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong and other vice-ministerial level talks will be held, and it is expected that the defense ministers of Korea, the United States and Japan will also hold the Asian Security Conference to be held in Singapore from today on the 10th.



At the NATO summit to be held in Spain at the end of this month, there are also forecasts that a South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit will be held.