With 10 illicit North Korean missile tests in just the past four months, that has very much proved to be the case. Over the last 20 years, the United States, China, Republic of Korea, Japan and Russia have continually sought to engage North Korea. Kim Jong-un has gone further, declaring North Korea will under no circumstances abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons. It also means using available bilateral leverage to convince North Korea to abandon its destructive path. We remain open to dialogue with North Korea within credible and authentic negotiations, but Pyongyang must first show willingness to take meaningful action toward denuclearisation.

Source: Bangkok Post May 21, 2017 22:07 UTC