1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se held a telephone conversation with Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson of the UK on September 14 to discuss ways for the UN Security Council to respond to North Korea’s fifth nuclear test.

2. Minister Yun, emphasizing North Korea’s fifth nuclear test as a grave provocation conducted in flagrant violation of Security Council Resolution 2270, asked the UK, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to cooperate actively for an early adoption of a new, robust Security Council sanctions resolution and the UK’s stronger unilateral sanctions in response to North Korea’s repeated provocations.

° With regard to North Korea’s human rights issue, the Minister voiced hope for close cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the UK in inducing the UN and the international community to take necessary measures.

3. Secretary Johnson, extending appreciation to Minister Yun for his detailed explanation, shared the Minister’s view that North Korea’s nuclear test constitutes a serious, unacceptable provocation. He added that based on this view, the UK had issued a statement of condemnation and had summoned the North Korean Ambassador to the UK to lodge strong protest on the heels of North Korea’s fifth nuclear test

° The Secretary stated that the UK, in close cooperation with the ROK government, will take necessary measures as a permanent member of the Security Council, for the Council to adopt a new sanctions resolution and for the international community to effectively enforce tough sanctions and put pressure on North Korea.

4. The Minister and the Secretary, sharing the view that the ROK-UK relations are continuously developing into close partnership in various sectors, agreed to explore ways to further step up cooperation, including at the bilateral strategic dialogue in early 2017.


* unofficial translation