TRILATERAL SUMMIT From left: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Chinese Premier Li Qiang prepare to attend a joint press conference following their talks in Seoul on May 27, 2024. Kyodo
SEOUL -- Japan confirmed with South Korea and China the importance of North Korean denuclearization at a trilateral summit on Monday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, hours after Pyongyang announced a plan to launch a satellite-carrying rocket.
But a joint statement issued after the meeting of the three leaders did not mention their commitment to the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," as agreed at the previous summit in December 2019 in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu.
At a joint press announcement with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Chinese Premier Li Qiang following the gathering in Seoul, Kishida said that stability on the Korean Peninsula is in the "common interest" of the three Asian countries.
The statement only said, "We reiterated positions on regional peace and stability, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the abductions issue, respectively. We agree to continue to make positive efforts for the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue."
North Korea said Monday it "strongly denounces and rejects" the joint declaration as "a blatant challenge" to the nation's sovereignty and "wanton interference in its internal affairs," according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry criticized South Korea in a statement carried by KCNA, saying Seoul has brought a "grave security crisis" to the Korean Peninsula "by frantically strengthening military alliance for aggression with hegemonic forces outside the region," referring to the United States.
The trilateral summit took place with the regional security environment becoming more severe amid nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, which has been bolstering its economic and military ties with China.
The Japanese government said earlier Monday that North Korea has notified Tokyo of its plan to launch a satellite-carrying rocket before June 4. The launch might involve the use of ballistic missile technology, a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
At the outset of the trilateral summit, Kishida urged North Korea to cancel its planned satellite launch, with Yoon, the chair of the meeting, saying it would endanger regional and global peace and stability.
Li, who took office in March 2023, did not touch on the issue, saying only that the role of China, Japan and South Korea is "to promote development, boost cooperation in East Asia and safeguard peace and prosperity in the region and the world."
The statement also said, "We reaffirmed our commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and to an international order based on the rule of law and international law," apparently targeting Russia.
The phrase might have been added to the statement as requested by Japan and South Korea despite opposition from China, effectively ruled solely by the Communist Party, as Tokyo and Seoul share common values such as freedom, democracy, and human rights, pundits said.
China has been trying to deepen relations with North Korea and Russia, while Japan and South Korea have been strengthening security cooperation, criticizing Beijing's increasing military assertiveness and Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, the leaders of Japan, South Korea and China agreed to work together in a wide range of fields, including people-to-people exchanges and economic cooperation, at their first trilateral summit in more than four years. Kyodo
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