President Moon Jae-in holds a phone call on Sept. 11 with French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, to discuss countermeasures to tackle the North Korean nuclear weapons issues. (Cheong Wa Dae)
By Lee Hana
President Moon Jae-in held phone conversations with the French and Australian heads of state on Sept. 11 to discuss countermeasures against North Korea’s sixth nuclear weapons test.
During his call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, President Moon showed appreciation for France promptly condemning Pyongyang’s latest nuclear weapons test and calling for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting alongside Korea, the U.S., the U.K. and Japan. He also thanked Macron for reaching out to Chinese President Xi Jinping on the matter.
“President Moon and I are completely on the same page, and France wholeheartedly supports the initiatives of the South Korean government,” said President Macron. “France strongly condemns North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests, and has stressed that the international community needs to take a firm and resolute stance in order to abolish Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons. We will continue to cooperate with other countries on this issue in carrying out U.N. Security Council resolutions.”
During the phone call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that followed, President Moon said that, up until now, he had patiently urged North Korea to halt its nuclear weapons and missiles programs. However, given the present situation, Moon stressed that he would cooperate with the international community to enforce strong countermeasures against Pyongyang. The president said he looked forward to expanding cooperation through the Korea-Australia foreign and defense ministers meetings to be held this October, where he hopes the two sides will discuss initiatives that help to bring stability and prosperity to East Asia.
“Australia condemned North Korea’s sixth nuclear weapons test through a joint statement released by the prime minister and the foreign affairs and defense ministers. Moving forward, we will continue to strengthen sanctions outlined by the U.N. Security Council resolutions,” said Turnbull.
hlee10@korea.kr
