Japan, U.S., S. Korea Vow to Denuclearize N. Korea

June 14, 2018

Seoul- The foreign ministers of Japan, the United States and South Korea agreed Thursday to cooperate closely for realizing the complete denuclearization of North Korea.

They reached the agreement after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to work for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula at his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore on Tuesday.

A joint statement adopted at the historic U.S.-North Korea summit did not refer to the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization, or CVID, of the peninsula.

But U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo showed an optimistic view about CVID at a joint press conference held after his meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha in Seoul.

"The world should rest assured that the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan remain committed to achieving complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea," Pompeo said.

The international community would move to lift its sanctions on North Korea only after the complete denuclearization is realized, Pompeo said, underscoring the need to continue putting pressure on Pyongyang for the time being.

Kono said Tokyo wants a Japan-North Korea summit to be held in a way that will pave the way for resolving issues related to North Korea, including Pyongyang's past abductions of Japanese nationals.

Based on the approach, various adjustments will likely be made, Kono said, suggesting that Tokyo will work on realizing a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Kim.

The foreign ministers' meeting among the three countries was the first since Pompeo took office in April. The last such meeting took place in January.

At the latest meeting, Pompeo, who joined the Trump-Kim meeting, explained to Kono and Kang what the two leaders discussed. The Japanese and South Korean ministers highly rated the results of the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit. Jiji Press