US, S.Korea, Japan warn of joint response if N.Korea conducts another nuclear test

ANKARA (AA) – The US, South Korea and Japan have warned North Korea that if it conducts another nuclear test, they will respond jointly, local media said on Friday.

Three countries' top security advisers met in Honolulu, Hawaii to discuss the ongoing tension with North Korea following Pyongyang's missile tests.

"(We) agreed that there must not be naive thinking or reaction that North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests and that (a new test) will only be one more nuclear test," South Korean security adviser Kim Sung-han was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency.

If North Korea conducts its seventh nuclear test, their reaction will certainly differ from those so far, he warned.

The US and South Korean officials believed that North Korea has completed all preparations for its seventh nuclear test.

North Korea conducted its 18th missile test since the beginning of the year last month, firing two cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea.

The missile launched came just hours after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol stated that he cannot provide security guarantees to rival North Korea and does not want to change the status quo by force.

Tension on the peninsula rose in 2020 when North Korea attacked and blew up the inter-Korean liaison office along the border. Seoul has threatened a strong response if Pyongyang "further worsens the situation."

However, tensions soared further last year when both Seoul and Pyongyang ramped up military drills to show off their might.

The US and South Korea have repeatedly offered North Korea dialogue in order to defuse current tensions on the peninsula, but it has yet to respond.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid