Britain, Australia united in North Korea 'condemnation'

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - The U.K. and Australia are united in condemnation of North Korea’s continued nuclear weapons and ballistic missile tests, British Prime Minister Theresa May said Monday.

May's remarks came at a news conference in London following a meeting with visiting Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

"The UK and Australia remain close partners ... to address the shared global challenges we face," May said.

"Last week’s missile test in North Korea showed yet again the danger the regime poses to our friends and allies," she added.

"We are united in our condemnation of their continued nuclear weapons and ballistic missile tests, which are in flagrant breach of the UN Security Council resolutions."

Last Tuesday, North Korea announced its first successful intercontinental ballistic missile test via state media, claiming the missile was a Hwasong-14 that reached an altitude of 2,802 kilometers (1,740 miles) and flew 933 kilometers (580 miles) for 39 minutes before landing in the Sea of Japan.

May said the topic came up during the recent G20 summit held in Hamburg, Germany and the two "discussed with our partners how we can step up international efforts to increase pressure on Pyongyang, and find a peaceful solution to the ongoing threat North Korea poses to global security".

Turnbull, for his part, said both the U.K. and Australia wanted North Korea to stop its "reckless conduct" and China to do more to bring North Korea "to its senses".

The two leaders underlined that they also spoke today about counterterrorism, security and defense, as well as post-Brexit trade relationship between the two countries.

May and Turnbull earlier visited the Borough Market where two Australians were killed in last month’s terror attack that killed 11 people.

Turnbull said the relationship between the U.K. and Australia was built on trust and no two countries were closer.

He added that the Australian people saw the recent terror attacks on Britain as an attack on their values, too.