US, South Korea and Japan reaffirm pledge to seek North Korea denuclearisation
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met his counterparts from the two nations on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference
The US, Japan and South Korea renewed their “resolute” pledge to seek the “complete denuclearisation” of North Korea, according to a joint statement from the three allies released on Saturday.
The statement came after new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met South Korean Foreign Minister Choe Tae-yul and Japan’s top diplomat Takeshi Iwaya on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference Saturday.
“The secretary and foreign ministers reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearisation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs),” it said.
“They expressed their serious concerns over and the need to address together the DPRK’s nuclear and missile programmes, malicious cyber activities including cryptocurrency thefts, and increasing military cooperation with Russia,” it added.
The three sent a “strong warning” that they “will not tolerate any provocations or threats to their homelands” and vowed to maintain and strengthen international sanctions against Pyongyang.
They also said they were committed to “the immediate resolution of the issues of abductees, detainees, and unrepatriated prisoners of war as well as the issue of separated families”.