U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said he reaffirmed a US commitment to the “complete” denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in talks with top Chinese officials this week.
During his visit to Beijing, Sullivan held talks with President Xi Jinping, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia.
“In all of my meetings, I stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait; emphasized the United States’ commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Sullivan said on Thursday in the press briefing.
His remarks came amid the absence of references to the goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in the policy platforms of both the U.S. Democratic and Republican parties as they prepare for November’s US presidential election.
That omission has raised concern in South Korea that rival North Korea might see an opportunity to secure a long-cherished goal, U.S. recognition that it is a de facto nuclear power.
U.S. recognition of that would shift the focus of negotiations from denuclearization to arms control.
Amid the concerns, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Thursday that he believed the U.S. would stick to its long-standing goal of North Korea’s denuclearization.
Yoon also said South Korea’s security cooperation with the U.S. and Japan would continue regardless of any leadership changes.
Yoon reaffirmed the commitment to the trilateral cooperation established during a Camp David summit a year ago, which was designed to strengthen the joint responses of the three allies to North Korea’s threats and other security challenges.
In Japan, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently made a surprise announcement that he will step down when his party picks a new leader next month.
His decision means his governing Liberal Democratic Party will choose a new standard bearer in its leadership election next month. The winner will replace Kishida as both party chief and prime minister.
Yoon said cooperation between his country, the U.S. and Japan would endure no matter what.
“The South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation framework is very important not only to the Indo-Pacific but also the global economy and security, benefiting all three nations,” Yoon said in a televised press conference. “A change in the leadership will not change this framework, and it will be upheld through the official diplomatic agreements.”
Separately, Yoon also expressed confidence in the U.S.’ “extended deterrence” commitment to defending South Korea with both conventional and nuclear capabilities, as outlined in the Washington Declaration, adopted during his summit with Biden in May 2023.
“The integrated extended deterrence between South Korea and the U.S. is becoming increasingly effective as the alliance is strengthened,” said Yoon.
Edited by RFA Staff.