US, South Korea, Japan call for ‘complete denuclearisation’ of North Korea

What the report says

The United States, South Korea and Japan renewed their joint demand for North Korea’s “complete denuclearisation” during talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Atlanta, according to Al Jazeera’s reporting. The meeting brought together US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. The three governments also backed full enforcement of existing UN Security Council resolutions targeting North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

The statement comes amid signs of renewed diplomatic activity around Pyongyang. Al Jazeera noted that US President Donald Trump has been seeking another meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and has in recent months downplayed the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear programme. Trump and Kim met several times during Trump’s first term, and speculation has grown that they could meet again at an upcoming APEC summit in China, which Trump is expected to attend.

The article also placed the statement in the wider regional debate over how to handle North Korea’s weapons programme. South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung has discussed a possible freeze of the programme in exchange for sanctions relief, while critics argue that such an approach could amount to accepting North Korea as a nuclear state. Al Jazeera reported that Pyongyang continues to reject denuclearisation and has described its nuclear status as permanent.