S. Korea, Japan, US agree on stern response in case of North’s new nuke test

South Korea, Japan and the United States have reportedly reached a consensus on stern measures against a possible new nuclear test by North Korea, warning there would be no soft response if Pyongyang presses ahead with such a move.

Kim Sung-han, South Korea's national security advisor, made the remarks after a trilateral meeting with his American and Japanese counterparts -- Jake Sullivan and Takeo Akiba -- in Honolulu on Thursday, South Korea's official Yonhap news agency reported.

"If North Korea conducts its seventh nuclear test, our three countries, together with the international community, will maximize cooperation in a way that North Korea realizes it was a clearly wrong choice," Kim told reporters, according to Yonhap.

He said the three countries had agreed that there "must not be naive thinking or reaction" to North Korea's new nuclear test, which follows six previous tests.

"Should North Korea conduct its seventh nuclear test, our reaction will certainly be different from those until now," the South Korean official said.

South Korea's presidential office said in a press release that the three officials had wide-ranging discussions on the North Korean nuclear issue, cooperation on advanced technologies and supply chains, and key regional and international issues.

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The statement noted that the three officials also agreed during their trilateral meeting to "further strengthen cooperation between the three countries aimed at contributing to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.”

Officials in Seoul and Washington earlier claimed that the North appears to have completed "all preparations" for a nuclear test and that it may only be mulling over the timing.

Last week, the United States and South Korea began their biggest joint war games in years as part of what they claimed to be countermeasures against threats from North Korea.

Seoul also called for boosting the military capability to fend off North Korean missiles, while strengthening the extended US deterrence, including its nuclear umbrella.

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The United States and South Korea have begun their largest joint war games in years.

North Korea has test-fired a record number of missiles this year amid claims by officials in Seoul and Washington that Pyongyang appears to be preparing to test a nuclear weapon for the first time in the past five years.

North Korea conducted its sixth and last nuclear test in September 2017. Following inconclusive negotiations with the US, it dismantled a nuclear facility and has not conducted any other nuclear tests since.

The US has warned it would push for additional sanctions if Pyongyang conducts a seventh nuclear test.

Back in July, the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country was “ready to mobilize” its nuclear deterrent in any future military conflict with the United States and South Korea.

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