S. Korea, France issue statement condemning N. Korea's nuclear program

Seoul and Paris slammed Pyongyang for its ongoing development of nuclear weapons and
its complete disregard for international norms.
Although France is not a member of the six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing the regime,...
it continues to play a key role in raising the issue within the European Union.
Connie Kim has the latest on diplomatic efforts to pressure the communist state.
South Korea and France are urging North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program and
abide by its international obligations.
At their first high-level meeting solely on Pyongyang's nuclear issue... that was held
in Paris on Wednesday, Seoul's representative for the six-party talks on the denuclearization
of North Korea Kim Hong-kyun and senior French Foreign Ministry official Nicolas de Riviere
issued a statement against the North's nuclear threat.
The two countries acknowledged the seriousness of the threat and condemned North Korea in
the strongest terms for its disregard for UN Security Council resolutions.
"This joint statement is the first of its kind in 2017 stemming from bilateral or multilateral
talks."
The two sides also evaluated that South Korea's foreign minister's visits to the European
Union and NATO have been an important stepping stone in strengthening South Korea-EU cooperation
on seeking resolutions on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.
Kim also expressed gratitude to his French counterpart for taking the initiative in adopting
independent EU sanctions on North Korea and the recently adopted UN Security Council Resolution
2321.
"This meeting was significant as these were the first high-level talks on North Korea's
nuclear weapons with a nation that's not part of the six-party denuclearization talks."
The French official also vowed to continue helping the European Union adopt additional
independent sanctions in the near future.
"Seoul's foreign ministry said France has also pledged to raise its voice against North
Korea's nuclear weapons at a series of upcoming meetings, starting with a gathering of G20
foreign ministers set for next month in Germany Connie Kim, Arirang News."

S. Korea, France issue statement condemning N. Korea's nuclear program

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