US President Trump, Ishiba reaffirm ‘resolute’ commitment to ‘complete denuclearization of North Korea

Washington, Feb 8 (IANS) US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reaffirmed their “resolute” commitment Friday to the “complete denuclearisation of North Korea,” a joint statement said, as Pyongyang reiterated its nuclear arms are not a bargaining chip.

Following their first in-person summit, Trump and Ishiba issued the statement, where the leaders voiced “serious” concerns over the North’s advancing weapons programs and underscored the importance of trilateral cooperation with South Korea.

“The two leaders expressed their serious concerns over and the need to address the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s nuclear and missile programs and reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearisation of the DPRK,” they said in the statement.

“Both countries underscored the need to deter and counter the DPRK’s malicious cyber activities and the DPRK’s increasing military cooperation with Russia. In addition, both countries affirmed the importance of the Japan-US-ROK trilateral partnership in responding to the DPRK and upholding regional peace and prosperity,” they added.

ROK is short for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea, while DPRK stands for the North’s official name.

The summit took place amid expectations for the potential resumption of Trump’s personal diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. During a Fox News interview last month, Trump said he will reach out to Kim again, calling the dynastic ruler a “smart guy.”

Trump reinforced those expectations during a joint press conference, saying that getting along with Kim is “a good thing, not a bad thing.”

“We will have relations with North Korea, with Kim Jong-un. I got along with him very well,” Trump said.

He added, “We had a good relationship, and I think it’s a very big asset for everybody that I do get along with him.”

The President claimed that he “stopped the war,” and that if he had not won the presidential election, people would have “ended up in a very bad situation.”

He appeared to assert that due to his relationship with Kim, which was cultivated through his personal diplomacy with the reclusive leader during his first term, a serious conflict did not flare up in Korea.

Spelling out his discussions with Ishiba, Trump pointed out the shared commitment by him and the Japanese leader to ensuring stability on the Korean Peninsula.

“The prime minister and I will be working closely together to maintain peace and security, and I also say peace through strength and all over the Indo-Pacific,” he said. “And to that end, we also remain committed to the effort I began in my first term to ensure safety and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”

Ishiba noted that he had “candid” discussions with Trump on a range of challenges facing the Indo-Pacific, including issues related to North Korea, the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

“Regarding North Korea, we affirmed the need to address its nuclear and missile program, which poses a serious threat to Japan, the US and beyond, and that Japan and the US will work together toward the complete denuclearization of North Korea,” Ishiba said through an interpreter.

For regional security, the Prime Minister said the two leaders concurred on furthering multilateral cooperation with like-minded countries, including through a trilateral partnership with South Korea as well as other US-led multilateral platforms, such as the Quad forum that consists of the US, India, Japan and Australia.

Trump and Ishiba reiterated their “strong” opposition to any attempts by China to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea, and to China’s maritime claims, militarisation of reclaimed features and “threatening and provocative” activities in the South China Sea, according to the joint statement, Yonhap news agency reported.

“The two leaders emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community,” the statement said. “They encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues, and opposed any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion.”

The prime minister used the talks with Trump to deliver his “strong sense of urgency” regarding the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang decades ago.

“Now that President Trump is in power again, if we are able to move towards resolving issues with North Korea, it would be agreed,” Ishiba said in response to a question over whether he would like to see Trump resume diplomacy with Pyongyang.

“For us, that includes not only denuclearisation, but also resolving the abductee issue. Not only the abductees, but also their families too are aging.”

–IANS

int/jk/as