South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (C) meets with foreign envoys to discuss the North Korean issue at his office in Seoul on Feb. 5, 2016. From left are Australian Amb. William Paterson, Japanese Amb. Koro Bessho, U.S. Amb. Mark Lippert and EU Amb. Gerhard Sabathil. (Image : Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se held a group meeting on Friday with foreign envoys here to exchange views on North Korea.
Following a brief photo session, Yun went into closed-door consultations with U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert, Japanese Amb. Koro Bessho, Australian Amb. William Paterson and Amb. Gerhard Sabathil, head of the Delegation of the European Union to Seoul.
The rare session took place at Yun’s office as the North is apparently gearing up to fire another long-range rocket within this month.
Pyongyang carried out its fourth known nuclear test in early January, prompting South Korea and other “like-minded” countries to seek tough punishment through the U.N. Security Council.
“For now, (we) are concentrating on imposing U.N. sanctions, but the meeting is also intended to discuss bilateral sanctions,” a Foreign Ministry official said. “All the nations participating in today’s session have actively joined the effort, and they are expected to do so down the road.”
Yun and the ambassadors also pooled their ideas on ways to coerce the North into averting its rocket launch plan, according to a diplomatic source.’
(Yonhap)
