US Secretary of State: `N. Korea’s SLBM test is unacceptable`

Visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had a dinner meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se at the minister’s official residence in Seoul on Sunday.

Kerry’s visit, which came after 15 months from his last visit in February last year, has been made according to his Korea-China tour schedule. Although it is a general practice for the U.S. Secretary of State to visit Korea, China and Japan during his visit to Asia, Japan is not included this time as the U.S.-Japan summit was recently held. Kerry plans to have a ministerial meeting with his South Korean counterpart and attend the joint press conference at the ministry headquarters on Monday. Kerry will meet with President Park Geun-hye in the morning on the same day and deliver a special lecture at the Korea University in the afternoon.

Kerry visited China on Saturday and gave a strong warning against North Korea over its launch of Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM), saying, “Their (North Korea) destabilizing behavior is unacceptable.”

Kerry and Yoon will arrange the agenda for President Park Geun-hye’s visit to the U.S., which is scheduled in the next month and exchange opinions over North Korea’s nuclear threats and other issues. Attentions are being paid as this meeting comes amid growing tensions and instability in the Korean Peninsula resulting from the recent series of incidents, such as North Korea’s provocation around the NLL in West Sea, SLBM test, and purge of its Armed Forces Minister Hyon Yong Chol.

shcho@donga.com