Seoul, Feb 8 (IANS) The South Korean foreign ministry on Saturday welcomed the United States and Japan’s recent summit meeting where the leaders of the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearisation of North Korea.
On Friday (Washington time), US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also expressed concerns over the North’s advancing weapons programmes and underscored the importance of trilateral cooperation with South Korea during their first in-person summit.
“The views of the US and Japan announced at the summit regarding the Korean Peninsula, including countering North Korea’s illegal cyber activities and military cooperation with Russia and seeking dialogue with North Korea based on trilateral cooperation, align with our policy direction, which has been continuously conveyed to the US through various channels at all levels,” the ministry said.
Seoul will continue its diplomatic efforts for the complete denuclearization of North Korea based on close trilateral cooperation with Washington and Tokyo, it added.
Friday’s summit took place amid expectations for the potential resumption of Trump’s personal diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Yonhap news agency reported.
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.
–IANS
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