The top diplomats from the four countries that make up the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue have denounced North Korea’s nuclear arms development and ballistic missile launches, calling for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
In a joint statement after a meeting in Washington on Tuesday, the foreign policy chiefs of the U.S., Japan, Australia and India condemned Pyongyang’s destabilizing actions using ballistic missile technology and its continued pursuit of nuclear weapons in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.
The Quad member states reaffirmed their commitment to the peninsula’s complete denuclearization, urging the North to abide by all its obligations under the Security Council resolutions.
They also expressed grave concern about the North’s malicious cyber activities and the use of workers abroad to fund its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, as well as about countries deepening military cooperation with the regime, a likely reference to Russia.
A statement from the preceding Quad ministerial meeting, held a day after U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, contained no reference to America’s adversaries, such as China or North Korea.