U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated here on Friday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will not be accepted as a nuclear power.
"We are all united in the fact that North Korea (DPRK) will not be accepted as a nuclear power," Kerry told a joint press conference with his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se. "The rhetoric that we're hearing from North Korea is simply unacceptable by any standard."
Kerry stressed that "the United States will, if needed, defend our allies and defend ourselves," repeating his comments made after talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun in Washington 10 days ago.
Kerry arrived in Seoul on Friday afternoon on a four-day Asian tour that will also take him to China and Japan. The top American diplomat will fly to Beijing on Saturday.
Kerry made his first Asian trip as Secretary of State amid escalating tensions in the Korean Peninsula since the DPRK conducted its third nuclear test on Feb. 12.
Pyongyang has prepared to launch its new medium-range ballistic missile at any moment in a bid to fight against provocations of the U.S. and its allies.
"If Kim Jong-un decides to launch a missile whether it's across the Sea of Japan or some other direction, he will be choosing willfully to ignore the entire international community," said Kerry. "It is a huge mistake for him to choose to do that because it would further isolate his country and isolate his people who are frankly desperate for food not missiles."
Minister Yun said he and Kerry shared the view that the DPRK will gain "nothing" from threats and provocations, urging Pyongyang to come to the negotiating table in response to the dialogue proposal by South Korean president Park Geun-hye.
On Thursday, Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae called on Pyongyang to discuss ways of normalizing operations of the joint industrial park at the DPRK's southern border town of Kaesong after the DPRK pulled all its workers out of the industrial zone on Monday.
The comments were an about-turn from the Seoul's hard-line stance. Minister Ryoo told lawmakers on Monday that "now is not the stage" to end the political deadlock through dialogue.
U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday urged Pyongyang to end its "belligerent approach," saying that the U.S. will continue to try to work to resolve the DPRK issues "diplomatically."
Meanwhile, South Korea's defense ministry spokesman said that the DPRK was estimated to be on its way to miniaturizing the nuclear warheads though he expressed doubts over the DPRK's capability to make small and light warheads that can be mounted on missiles.
"(The DPRK) has a significantly high level of technology on nuclear weapons and missiles. But making (nuclear devices) small, light and diversified was analyzed to take much time," Minister Yun told reporters.
