Japan and Pacific island countries on Saturday called on North Korea to take concrete actions toward denuclearization by complying with U. N. sanctions over its nuclear and missile development, as they wrapped up a two-day summit meeting in northeastern Japan. In the joint declaration released after the gathering in
Japan and Pacific island countries on Saturday called on North Korea to take concrete actions toward denuclearization by complying with U. N. sanctions over its nuclear and missile development, as they wrapped up a two-day summit meeting in northeastern Japan.
In the joint declaration released after the gathering in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and leaders from 14 Pacific island nations expressed “deep concerns” over the North evading international sanctions by transferring cargoes at sea.
The leaders “strongly called on North Korea to immediately take concrete actions” in accordance with the U. N. Security Council resolutions and pledged “their commitment to exerting continued pressure on North Korea.”
“The leaders stressed the importance of seeking a peaceful and diplomatic resolution toward complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of all weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including biological and chemical weapons, and ballistic missiles as well as related facilities of North Korea,” the declaration said.
It is the first time for Japan and the Pacific island countries to mention the North Korean issue in their declaration. Japan has hosted a regional summit with the Pacific island nations every three years since 1997.
“We reaffirmed our bond and toward further cooperation as the region faces various challenges,” Abe told a press conference after the summit.
On the flurry of diplomatic development surrounding the Korean Peninsula, Abe and Pacific island leaders welcomed an agreement reached on April 28 between South and North Korea toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
