In brief
In Atlanta, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi urged North Korea to dismantle its nuclear arsenal, despite Pyongyang’s insistence the arsenal is permanent. Trump’s continued outreach to Kim Jong Un contrasts with the hardline stance of the three governments, while analysts note the possibility of further talks at the upcoming APEC summit.
At G20 summit sidelines in Atlanta on Thursday, the United States, South Korea and Japan called for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, repeating a stance that Pyongyang has repeatedly ruled out. The joint message, read out by the U.S. Department of State, said the three top diplomats – Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Toshimitsu Motegi – reaffirmed a “resolute commitment to the complete denuclearisation” of the DPRK and pledged full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions that bar revenue‑generating support for North’s nuclear and missile programmes.
These words arrive while U.S. President Donald Trump continues to pursue a diplomatic approach toward Pyongyang. Trump, who held a series of summits with Kim Jong‑Un during his first term and still refers to Kim as a “friend,” last year conceded that North Korea was “sort of a nuclear power.” The president has since played down concerns about the nuclear programme and expressed a desire to meet Kim again, prompting speculation that a cordial reunion could occur at next month’s APEC summit in China.
Analysts and South Korea’s spy agency say that Kim may have relayed Pyongyang’s stance on U.S. talks to China during a recent visit to the border city of Dandong. President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea, who has offered talks without preconditions, suggested Washington should seek a freeze—rather than a full elimination—of the North’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Critics warn that such a brittle compromise could tacitly accept North Korea as a nuclear‑armed state while allowing it sanctions relief.
North Korea, alongside Russia and China, has enshrined its nuclear arsenal as permanent and irreversible in law. Pyongyang has denounced a joint statement released on Saturday by a group of nations monitoring sanctions implementation, asserting that the “stereotyped sanctions racket” of the U.S. and the West cannot alter the DPRK’s position.
