S. Korea, U.S. agree to expand cooperation to sanction N. Korea

MUNICH, Feb. 12 (Yonhap_ -- South Korea and the United States agreed to expand cooperation to punish North Korea for detonating a nuclear device and test firing a long-range missile, the foreign ministry said Friday.

The understanding was reached by Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his U.S. counterpart John Kerry on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), the ministry said.

The bilateral meeting between the top diplomats of the partner countries is the first since North Korea detonated its fourth nuclear device on Jan. 6 and launched a missile that can target the United States on Sunday, in direct violation of warnings issued by the United Nations and the international community at large.

The foreign ministry said that the U.S. secretary of state supported Seoul's decision to shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex, stressing it is a brave and critical move.

The government ordered the closure of the Kaesong park on Wednesday to show its resolve to sanction Pyongyang for its belligerent activities. The industrial complex that started churning out products in late 2004 is the last economic link between the two Koreas.

At the meeting with Kerry, Yun stressed the need to get North Korea to understand that it cannot survive unless it gives up its nuclear ambitions and that the international community must forge a "terminating resolution" that can change the entire equation when it comes to the nuclear standoff.

He added that talks with members of the United Nations Security Council revealed a shared view that North Korea must pay a high price for its provocative behavior.

In response, Kerry lauded efforts by Seoul and that such actions helped Washington's own diplomatic endeavors.

He then said that close work between the six-party talk members, not including North Korea, must be maintained and strengthened to show the international communities solidarity on dealing with Pyongyang's nuke testing. The long stalled six-party talks were launched to resolve North Korea's nuclear program through dialogue. It is made up of the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

The policymaker then said that all sides needed to examine various ways to resolve the North's nuclear issue.

The meeting, meanwhile, came as the U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval to measures to sanction North Korea the same day.

The legislation calls for the mandatory blacklisting of entities that assist Pyongyang with its nuclear and missile programs, human rights abuses, cyber attacks and other criminal activities. It calls for imposing sweeping sanctions on the North trade in minerals and precious metals, a key source of hard currency for Pyongyang.

Besides the meeting with Kerry, Yun also held talks with Russia's foreign minister.

Diplomatic sources said that Yun and Sergey Lavrov concurred that North Korea's recent actions cannot be tolerated.

Moscow, however, said that all parties must employ patience and refrain from taking action that can escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The meeting comes as Russia and China have expressed reservations about the U.S.' moves to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea and to impose stringent sanctions.

yonngong@yna.co.kr
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