Moon, Abe agree to increase pressure on N. Korea to 'extreme' level

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed Wednesday to further increase pressure on North Korea to an "extreme" level, also vowing to push for new and stronger sanctions by the UN Security Council.

The agreement came in a telephone conversation, one day after the communist North fired an intermediate range ballistic missile that flew over Japan.

"In their telephone conversation, the two leaders highly evaluated their countries' close cooperation in dealing with the crisis. They agreed on the need to increase the pressure on North Korea to an extreme level to make North Korea voluntarily come out to the dialogue table," Park Soo-hyun, spokesman for South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, said in a press briefing.
 

The South Korean president said launching a ballistic missile over the Japanese territory was "outrageous violence," again denouncing the North's latest missile test that marked the 14th of its kind since the beginning of the year.

The leaders welcomed the UNSC's statement, condemning the reclusive North for its latest missile provocation, calling it an "unprecedentedly swift action" by the UNSC.

They agreed to further work together for fresh UNSC sanctions, according to Park.

"The two leaders agreed to jointly push for a UNSC sanctions resolution with more specific and effective measures against the North and for South Korea, the United States and Japan to spearhead such discussions while working to win the support of China and Russia in the process," the spokesman said.

A Cheong Wa Dae official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the presidential office was also seeking to arrange a telephone conversation between Moon and his US counterpart Donald Trump.

China and Russia have long been considered sympathetic toward their communist neighbor, Pyongyang, but they have recently been supportive of efforts by the UNSC to rein in the North's evolving nuclear and missile capabilities, enabling the unanimous passage of a sanctions resolution last month and the UNSC statement issued Tuesday (New York time).

Wednesday's telephone conversation between Moon and Abe marked the fifth of its kind since the new South Korean leader took office in May. (Yonhap)