Anchor: All 15 members of the UN Security Council and South Korea will hold special talks in New York later on Friday to discuss North Korea. As the U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson is chairing the meeting, the U.S. is expected to try and further ostracize the Pyongyang regime from the international community.
Kim Bum-soo has more.  
 
Report: 
 
[Sound bite: US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner] 
QUESTION: -- sanctions is one, but diplomatic isolation would include, I suppose, closing missions around the world. I mean --
TONER: Yes.
 
The threat of North Korea’s nuclear and missile program will be the focus of a special meeting of the UN Security Council(UNSC) chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday.
 
Speaking to reporters about the UNSC meeting earlier this week, U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner hinted that Washington is mulling diplomatically isolating the Pyongyang regime.
 
[Sound bite: US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner (Apr. 26)] 
"With respect to Friday, that is obviously geared towards speaking to other members of the Security Council frankly about our conviction that we need to apply greater pressure on North Korea to get it to comply to international concerns. There are a number of options, and I feel like a broken record on this, but one of them is sanctions, but there are other pressure points – isolation, diplomatic isolation being another one."
 
The spokesman noted that options could include ostracizing North Korea from countries and international bodies by closing down their diplomatic missions. 
 
While Toner said Tillerson won't ask the countries to strip North Korea of its UN membership, speculations are growing that the U.S. could ask them to sever diplomatic ties with the regime. 
 
On Thursday, Toner said that the U.S. state secretary will urge China to use its unique leverage when he meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the UNSC meeting. 

Including the Chinese Foreign Minister, all 15 permanent and non-permanent members of the UN Security Council sent their delegations to the meeting. South Korea will be represented by Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.
 
[Sound bite: Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (Korean)]
"[the meeting proves that] the international community now recognizes the North Korean nuclear and missile threats more gravely than ever."    
 
Yun will ask the UNSC member states to devise even tougher sanctions in the event North Korea stages another provocation.  
 
The top diplomats of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will also hold three-way talks on the sidelines. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News. 
 

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