South Korea ‘welcomes’ U.S, Japanese leaders' call for North's 'complete denuclearization'

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South Korea ‘welcomes’ U.S, Japanese leaders' call for North's 'complete denuclearization'

Published: 09 Feb. 2025, 16:13

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 7, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saturday that it welcomes the joint statement by the leaders of the United States and Japan reaffirming their desire for the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea and the importance of cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met in Washington and expressed concerns over the North's advancing weapons programs while underscoring the importance of trilateral cooperation with South Korea during their first in-person summit.

In the joint statement, Trump and Ishida emphasized the need to deter and counter Pyongyang's malicious cyber activities and its "increasing military cooperation with Russia," and reaffirmed the importance of the "trilateral partnership in responding to the DPRK and upholding regional peace and prosperity," using the acronym for the North's official name.

“The views of the United States 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 United States through various channels at all levels,” Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Based on close cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan, we will actively pursue diplomatic efforts for the complete denuclearization of North Korea,” the Foreign Ministry continued. “As the United States reviews its specific policy toward North Korea, we plan to strengthen communication and policy coordination with the United States at all levels, including the ministerial level.”

Ishiba said on Sunday that Trump did not request an increase in Japan's defense spending during the U.S.-Japan summit, and that the two countries have formed a consensus regarding the complete denuclearization of North Korea.

The prime minister appeared on a morning news program on Japanese broadcaster NHK on Sunday and answered that “there was no such request” when asked whether Trump had requested an increase in Japan’s defense budget during the summit on Friday.

Ishiba also said that “Japan is steadily increasing its defense budget," and that it is more important to connect this to regional peace and prosperity than to simply increase the amount of defense spending.

Regarding the "complete denuclearization of North Korea" as stated in the joint statement released after the summit, he emphasized that "we have clearly confirmed it," and that "Japan cannot accept that North Korea is a nuclear state and will hold various negotiations in the future, and the common understanding between the United States and Japan is that denuclearization must be achieved in the end.”

When asked if the Trump administration does not recognize North Korea as a nuclear state, Ishiba said “it does not.”

Furthermore, when asked whether Trump values multilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan, Ishiba said, "I think so — that is clearly stated in the joint statement."

Ishiba also mentioned that he discussed the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States and the expansion of investments in automobile companies, keeping in mind that Trump pointed out the trade imbalance with Japan.

"If we import LNG from the United States, the trade deficit with Japan will decrease by that amount," Ishiba said. "We will present specific measures one by one to reduce the trade deficit that the United States is most concerned about."

He then emphasized that he is confident that Trump understands that the Japanese automobile industry is contributing to job creation in the United States.

"There was no specific discussion about tariffs on Japanese automobiles during the summit,” Ishiba said in the NHK interview.

Regarding whether Japan would be among the mutual tariff targets that the U.S. president mentioned he could announce on Feb. 10 or 11, Ishiba said "I don't know" and "if it seems like one side is exploiting it, it won't last long." South Korea is also closely watching the tariff issue as Trump's policies could have a major impact upon the economy, especially in industries like steel, automobiles and semiconductors.

Regarding his general impression of Trump, Ishiba said that “when I saw him on television, he seemed scary, but when I actually talked to him, I felt that he listened to others calmly," and "I thought we were a good match."

He evaluated the summit as "a good result due to the efforts of many people," and said that if Trump makes strong demands in the future, such as in the area of security, Japan will respond based on its national interests.

In addition, Ishiba predicted that Trump would visit Japan at the "most appropriate time," as he expressed a strong will to visit during this summit.

Experts advise Seoul to take what it can from the example of Tokyo, which conducted summit diplomacy with Trump early on, and prepare closely for the demands that Trump will present in the future. As of 2023, South Korea is spending 2.8 percent of its GDP on defense.

“Instead of paying for the specific issue of stationing U.S. troops in South Korea as Trump demands, it might be better for South Korea to increase its defense budget like Japan did," said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University. "However, we should be aware that Trump could induce South Korea and Japan to increase their defense budgets and then reduce the role of U.S. troops in both countries.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]