US Deputy Special Representative Jung Pak (Photo: koreatimes.co.kr) |
On the same day, The Military Times newspaper quoted sources saying that the US, Japan, and South Korea conducted combined naval exercises from Monday to Wednesday.
Military observers say this is one of the largest-scale naval exercises ever between the three countries.
The drill took place after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared that North Korea would abandon its long-standing commitment to a peaceful unification with South Korea and ordered a rewriting of the North’s constitution to eliminate the idea of a shared statehood between the two Koreas.
Last Sunday, North Korea conducted its first ballistic missile test of 2024. Pyongyang is formally abolishing a handful of key government agencies charged with promoting cooperation and reunification with the South and Kim called for legal measures to redefine its relationship with South Korea.