South Korea, US & Japan warn North Korea's missile provocations; 'Will isolate it further'

As North Korea test-fired three short-range ballistic missiles that plunged into the Sea of Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Japanese diplomats berated North's series of belligerent missile launches.

The three allies held a phone consultation, wherein they slammed Pyongyang's first missile launch in 2023. Such "provocations" by North Korea will lead to further isolation, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on Jan 1, according to Yonhap news agency. 

Pyongyang launched the ballistic missile from Chunghwa County in North Korea’s North Hwanghae Province at around 8 am local time on Saturday (23:00 GMT on Friday). South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) derided North Korea's launch, which was followed by one more short-range ballistic missile test firing. This was the first missile launch of Pyongyang in 2023.

"In connection with North Korea's declaration that it will continue its provocations this year, the three countries stressed that North Korea's provocations will deepen its isolation and face a stronger defense readiness of the US-South Korea coalition, security cooperation between the US, South Korean and Japan, and a united and resolute response from the international community," the ministry of South Korea noted in a joint statement.

The recent test fire of missiles has ratcheted the already high tensions in the Korean Peninsula in 2023. The two Koreas have had repeated ceasefire violations since the end of the 1953 Korean War. "North Korea's continued provocations and claims that try to frame us as being in the wrong harm peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community," the presidential office of South Korea noted at the end of the year 2022, condemning North's increasing military assertiveness. 

On Sunday, Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Gunn and the US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim, and Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Funakoshi Takehiro held a trilateral dialogue to discuss the security risk posed by North Korea.

In a joint statement, the three allies "strongly condemned" North Korea's missile firing that landed in the sea of Japan. The three countries urged that the only way for North Korea "to alleviate the suffering of its people amid extreme economic conditions" is by stopping all forms of military provocations in the region. The three countries diplomats slammed the North's self-defense capabilities, labelling it "absurd."