SEOUL, March 25 (UPI) -- President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Sunday North Korea is back on a path to further isolation.
The two leaders met with reporters in Seoul as Pyongyang forged ahead with plans to launch a satellite into orbit aboard a long-range missile.
"I'll simply say North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or by provocations," Obama said.
The planned launch flies in the face of a recent agreement in which North Korea would suspend its missile program in exchange for U.S. food assistance.
"The two countries agreed that North Korea's announcement of a planned long-range rocket launch is a violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution and an agreement between the United States and North Korea," Lee said. "Therefore, we concurred that North Korea should immediately withdraw the planned launch and abide by its international obligations."
Lee added North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong Un, is following a strategy that will lead nowhere.
"The new leader in North Korea will have to understand that he cannot survive alone in this world," Lee said. "In this day and age, no country or people -- or leader, for that matter, can stand alone. It's imperative that all leaders and countries work together as a responsible member of the international community.
"And this is the surest way to ensure a better life for the people of that country."
