Duterte, Abe condemn North Korea missile tests, call for negotiations

TOKYO — The Philippines and Japan Monday condemned the missile tests by rogue state North Korea and called for the resumption of talks to diffuse the tension in the Korean Peninsula.

 

President Rodrigo Duterte said North Korea’s missile tests pose a threat to regional stability and should be resolved peacefully.

 

“We need to address many issues confronting the region and threats to the stability and security (in the) Asia-Pacific. Foremost among our shared concern are developments in the Korean peninsula and the continuing missile launch tests of North Korea,” Duterte said after his meeting with Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe here.

 

“We condemn these tests and call on all concerned stakeholders to return to the negotiating table to peacefully resolve the situation,” he added.

 

North Korea has continued to beef up its nuclear program despite economic sanctions by the United Nations and widespread condemnation by the international community.

 

The rogue state previously threatened to launch ballistic missiles toward Guam, where a US military base is located, prompting American President Donald Trump to declare that he would meet any threat to his country with “fire and fury.”

 

READ: Raising the stakes: Why North Korea is talking up Guam

 

Japan and South Korea, East Asian countries that also host US military installations, are also bracing for possible missile attacks.

 

Last April, member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations said they are concerned over the issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula as they seriously threaten peace, security and stability in the region and the world.

 

Before leaving for Japan, Duterte said a nuclear war was “unacceptable” as he cited the need for stakeholders to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

 

“Somebody has to talk to Kim Jong Un…I have joined the echo for him to just lower a bit (his) aggressiveness,” the president told reporters in Davao City last Sunday.

 

“All leaders agree that he is a dangerous man. You must remember that he is a leader of his people… Whatever he proclaims himself to be, somebody has to talk to him,” he added.

 

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Duterte said it would be “good” if the US, Japan and South Korea talk with North Korea to convince the totalitarian state to stop the threats. But he believes that only China can calm down the North Korean leader.

 

“It would be good if America, Japan, Korea, and Mr. Kim Jong Un to talk and to convince him (Kim) to sit down on a round table and just tell him that nobody’s threatening him, that there will be no war, and that if he can just tone down or stand down, stop the threats, and that would be the same for America, just to assure him that nobody’s after you, and America is not about ready to destroy a generation or a nation of people,” the Philippine leader said.

 

Duterte said Kim should also be given an assurance that there would be no plans to oust him.