For denuclearization of Korean Peninsula, US continues to see diplomacy best way
The Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that the US continues to seek complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and believes diplomacy is the best way to achieve such a goal.
North Korea had tested its four short-range missile launches since the start of this year.
It is difficult to review the last two years of U.S.-North Korea diplomacy and not feel a sense of dread about how little things have changed. Pyongyang’s rhetoric is getting more heated as the days go by.
On Saturday the Yonhap News Agency reported that John Kirby also highlighted the importance of fully implementing UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions to prevent the North from further advancing its missile capabilities.
Referring to the N Korean leader, Kirby said in a press briefing, “Obviously, we don’t want to see the North Korean military program continue to be able to pose a threat to our South Korean allies or to the region. So, we continue to call on Kim Jong-un to sit down and discuss the way forward.”
“So, our view hasn’t changed. We want to see the complete, verifiable denuclearization of the peninsula. We believe that diplomacy is the best track to take to get there and we’re willing to sit down (with) no preconditions,” he added.
North Korea on Thursday hinted at resuming its nuclear and long-range missile testing, saying it will consider restarting “all temporarily-suspended activities”. Pyongyang has maintained a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests since November 2017.
“These ballistic missile launches are violations of Security Council resolutions. We continue to call on Pyongyang to cease that activity and for everybody involved in the international community to actually live up to the sanctions that have already been put in place,” said Kirby.
U.S. residents have struggled with the challenges posed by a hostile North Korea since the end of the Korean War. The diplomatic struggle over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program has had many ups and downs, from the near outbreak of a second war in 1994 to an agreement a few months later to end the nuclear program.
[With Inputs from IANS]
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