AFP, Seoul :
New US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the need to sustain sanctions pressure on Pyongyang as he held talks Monday in Seoul that focused on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes.
Blinken’s arrival in South Korea was presaged by a series of North Korean missile tests, reflecting escalating military tensions on the divided peninsula ahead of large-scale US-South Korea military drills next month.
Following talks with his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-Yong, Blinken argued that international sanctions on North Korea had made a “meaningful difference” to its ability to acquire materials for its weapons and missiles programmes.
North Korea is already subject to a raft of US and UN sanctions over its arms programme, but some critics insist the measures have failed to stop Pyongyang pushing ahead with its nuclear and missile development.
President Barack Obama imposed fresh sanctions last month following a damaging cyber attack on Hollywood studio Sony Pictures that Washington blamed on Pyongyang.
