South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrived in Mexico City Saturday for next week’s talks with her Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto.
The two leaders are set to meet on Monday to discuss a wide range of issues, as well as how to cooperate on the faithful and effective implementation of the U.N. sanctions, according to South Korean officials.
The U.N. Security Council has slapped North Korea with the toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea to punish the communist country for its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and a long-range rocket launch on Feb. 7.
Mexico City is the second and last stop on Park’s eight-day tour that took her to Washington for crucial back-to-back meeting with her U.S., Chinese and Japanese counterparts on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit.
In Washington, the leaders of the regional powers have vowed to strictly enforce the strong U.N. sanctions on North Korea in the latest pressure on the isolated country over its nuclear program.
The sanctions resolution calls for, among other things, the mandatory inspection of all cargo going into and out of the North, and a ban on the country’s exports of coal and other mineral resources to cut off North Korea’s access to hard currency.
Separately, Park pledged Friday to join international efforts to develop nuclear security regimes as she called on the United Nations and other international organizations to strengthen their role in nuclear security.
Her comments came amid growing concerns over possible nuclear and radiological attacks by terrorist groups.
U.S. President Barack Obama said al Qaida has long sought nuclear materials and the Islamic State militant group has used chemical weapons, including mustard gas, in Syria and Iraq.
This week’s summit was the fourth and final one since 2010, when Obama hosted the inaugural session as part of efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
The summit has been held every two years to discuss how to tackle the threats of nuclear terrorism and how to strengthen an international regime for nuclear security. (Yonhap)
