President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a 20-minute telephone conversation this afternoon on North Korea’s launch of an ICBM-grade rocket. The two leaders agreed that they could no longer tolerate security threats posed by North Korea and that Korea and Japan would step up cooperation to apply tougher pressure and sanctions against the North.

They expressed concern over the North’s claim that it neared the completion of nuclear and missile development. They also agreed to proceed with more resolute and stronger pressure on North Korea at the U.N. Security Council, due to meet on November 30, through cooperation with the international community.

President Moon said he would request President Xi Jinping to play a stronger role on his visit to China next month. In response, Prime Minister Abe underscored that it was very important for China to play a greater role in pressing North Korea.

Noting that Pyongyang`s provocation was all the more grave because it had come in the run-up to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, President Moon emphasized that it was crucial to hold the upcoming Olympics in a safe manner for the sake of peace not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in Northeast Asia and around the globe. 

Expressing the hope that a trilateral summit among Korea, China and Japan would be held as soon as possible so that he would be able to meet Prime Minister Abe in Tokyo, President Moon invited the Prime Minister to attend the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Prime Minister Abe responded that although a Meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives is scheduled to be held during the Olympics, he would review the possibility of attending the event.