Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Leaders of South Korea, Japan agree to bring never-before-seen powerful measures against North Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will together seek ways to come up with the strongest set of measures possible against North Korea including a new, more powerful UN Security Council resolution following its sixth nuclear test the day before.


"President Moon stressed the need for stronger measures against North Korea one that is powerful and substantive enough for Pyongyang to actually feel and realize the pressure."

The remarks came during a twenty-minute-long phone conversation between the two leaders Monday morning the sixth of its kind since the South Korean leader took office in May.


""Both heads of state agreed to cooperate closely with each other and the United States and shared the understanding that there must be the most powerful sanctions and pressure applied on North Korea. As part of that they agreed to push for more powerful UN sanctions."

The South Korean president whose North Korea policy has so far largely focused on engagement and dialogue together with pressure stressed the need to elevate sanctions to the maximum level so that the North can bring itself to the negotiation table.

To that, Prime Minister Abe reportedly vowed to urge China and Russia to cooperate and play a greater role in placing pressure on Pyongyang.

(STAND-UP)
"President Moon is expected to hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East this week. These one-on-ones coming on the heels of Pyongyang's boldest provocative yet will prove to be critical in the direction of North Korea policy for South Korea and the rest of the world.
Moon Connyoung, Arirang News, the Blue House."

(ANCHOR TAG)
Abe's not the only world leader President Moon held phone meetings over North Korea's nuke test.
The latest involve German Chancellor Angela Merkeland U.S. president Donald Trump.
He's also scheduled to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin later tonight.