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Ri Su-yong

US President Barack Obama said on Apr. 24 that he did not “take seriously” North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong’s proposal to halt nuclear testing in exchange for a suspension of joint South Korea-US military exercises.

Obama’s response came while fielding questions about the North’s recent submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test on Apr. 23 and Ri’s proposal in a joint press conference after a summit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hannover.

“We don’t take seriously a promise to simply halt [nuclear tests] until the next time they decide to do a test these kinds of activities [ballistic missile launches],” Obama said.

“Although more often than not they fail in many of these tests, they gain knowledge each time they engage in these tests,” he added. “We take it very seriously.”

Obama went on to say that “if North Korea shows seriousness in denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, then we’ll be prepared to enter into some serious conversations with them about reducing tensions and our approach to protecting our allies in the region.”

“But that’s not something that happens based on a press release in the wake of a series of provocative behaviors. They’re going to have to do better than that,” he added.

Obama also said the US would continue to “emphasize our work with the Republic of Korea and Japan and our missile defense mechanisms to ensure that we’re keeping the American people safe and we’re keeping our allies safe” until North Korea does so.

In an Apr. 25 statement, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemned the SLBM test, saying “the DPRK’s development and testing of new ballistic missile capabilities, even if launches are failures, is clearly prohibited by [numerous] resolutions.”

“[T]he Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall refrain from further actions in violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions and comply fully with its obligations under these resolutions,” it declared.

A high-ranking South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told reporters on Apr. 25 that UNSC Resolution 2270 “left exceptions [including waiving an embargo on coal for public welfare purpose] that are apparently being abused.”

“We will be talking to the other countries toward filling in what loopholes we can when North Korea engages in additional strategic provocations [such as a fifth nuclear test],” the official added.

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]