Japan, US, S. Korea reaffirm cooperation over N. Korea

May 5, 2018

Washington- National security officials of Japan, the United States and South Korea reaffirmed Friday that the three countries will continue to closely cooperate for the denuclearization of North Korea.

At a meeting in Washington, John Bolton, national security adviser to US President Donald Trump, and Shotaro Yachi, head of the secretariat for Japan's National Security Council, confirmed the importance of having North Korea completely destroy all of its ballistic missiles, including short- and intermediate-range missiles, and all weapons of mass destruction in a verifiable manner.

Bolton held a separate meeting with Chung Eui-yong, director of South Korea's National Security Office.

Chung reported the outcome of a meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late April, the first inter-Korean summit in about 11 years.

Bolton and Chung agreed that the size of the U.S. forces in South Korea will not be changed.

In its online edition on Thursday, The New York Times reported that Trump has instructed the US Defense Department to consider an option of scaling back the US forces in South Korea.

On Friday, Trump denied the report, telling reporters that the issue of the US forces in the Asian country is not on the table. Jiji Press