S. Korea, U.S. senior diplomats agree on collaboration for swift N. Korea sanctions

SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- Senior diplomats from South Korea and the United States have agreed to work closely to swiftly adopt a new round of sanctions on North Korea over its latest nuclear test, the foreign ministry in Seoul said Thursday.

In Washington on Wednesday, South Korea's deputy foreign minister for multilateral and global affairs Choi Jong-moon held a High-Level Disarmament and Nonproliferation Consultation with Rose Gottemoeller, the U.S. under secretary of arms control and international security.

"Both sides shared their understanding that North Korea's fifth nuclear test was an intolerable, serious provocation," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

"In addition to the more strict and faithful implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2270, they also agreed to further tighten bilateral cooperation for the swift adoption of a new resolution," according to the ministry.

The understanding marks the latest pledge by the allies to respond to North Korea's fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9 with more stringent U.N. and state-level sanctions.

The High-Level Disarmament and Nonproliferation Consultation was launched in 2013 to enhance bilateral collaboration on the arms building and nonproliferation issues through regular communications.

During the latest talks, the officials also discussed ways to raise the effectiveness of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime, a multilateral forum for nonproliferation efforts, which South Korea is chairing for the 2016-2017 period.

pbr@yna.co.kr
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