South Korea and the United States have agreed to take strong punitive measures against North Korea at the U.N. Security Council if the North attempts additional provocations.

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy Kim Hong-kyun and his U.S. counterpart Joseph Yun held talks in Seoul on Wednesday and condemned the North’s recent missile launches.

The two sides agreed that the series of provocations by the North could be a sign of additional strategic provocations such as a test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile ICBM), which was mentioned in North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s New Year’s address.

Kim and Yun also agreed on the importance of blocking sources of foreign currency for North Korea and to continue joint efforts to restrict the North from sending its laborers abroad.

The two envoys reaffirmed that now is not the time to seek dialogue with Pyongyang but to continue increasing pressure to convince the North to change its attitude. 

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