US, Japan reaffirm commitment to N. Korea's 'complete denuclearization'
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, front right, inspects a newly launched nuclear material production facility at an unspecified location on Jun. 3 in this image captured from the website of North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency the next day. Yonhap
WASHINGTON — The United States and Japan reiterated their commitment to the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea and rejected Russia's notion that Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear arms was a "closed" issue, as they held key defense talks in Tokyo this week, according to a joint statement.
The allies held the bilateral Extended Deterrence Dialogue at Japan's foreign ministry on Monday and Tuesday as they seek to reinforce security cooperation in the face of China's growing assertiveness and North Korea's advancing nuclear and ballistic missile threats.
"They reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the DPRK," the joint statement read. DPRK is short for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
It added, "Both delegations discussed China's dramatic and opaque nuclear weapons buildup and rejected Russia's notion that the DPRK's pursuit of nuclear weapons was a closed issue."
During the defense talks, the two sides discussed U.S. efforts to modernize and adapt U.S. nuclear forces, as well as Japan's defense policy and capabilities, "due to increasing regional nuclear threats," according to the statement.
Japan encouraged the U.S. pursuit of multilateral "strategic stability" talks to help avert a nuclear arms race, address concerns about nuclear testing, reduce nuclear risks, and bolster transparency, including through arms control dialogues with China and Russia, it said.
The U.S. State Department and Defense Department, and Japan's foreign and defense ministries, co-chaired the meeting, which included participants from the Japan Joint Staff, U.S. Joint Staff, U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and U.S. Forces Japan.