1. As the international community is increasing pressure on North Korea, including through UN Security Council resolutions and major countries’ unilateral sanctions, in response to North Korea’s fourth nuclear test and long-range missile launch, 47 chiefs of the Republic of Korea’s overseas diplomatic missions, who are attending the 2016 meeting of the chiefs of the ROK’s overseas diplomatic missions (March 14 to 18) visited the truce village of Panmunjom on March 15 and see the security situation on the Korean Peninsula firsthand.

2. The participating mission chiefs once again recognized the seriousness of the current situation where North Korea is taking increasingly provocative actions in protest of sanctions against the North, including cutting off communication channels at Panmunjom, launching short-range ballistic missiles, and confiscating the ROK’s assets in North Korea. The mission chiefs also reaffirmed that now is the time to create an environment where North Korea can realize that it cannot survive with nuclear development and has no choice but to change, including through faithful implementation of Security Council resolutions and bilateral sanctions against North Korea.


* unofficial translation