Following the U.S.-Japan summit in Washington on Feb. 7, U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reiterated they have “grave concern(s) over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs” and their “firm commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea.” This statement underscores both the U.S. commitment to the principle of denuclearization and its willingness to engage in negotiations with Pyongyang.

The concept of North Korea’s denuclearization cannot be discussed without addressing three historical milestones: first, the withdrawal of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons from South Korea in September 1991 under former President George H.W. Bush; second, the South-North Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in December of the same year; and third, the Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks in September 2005. The withdrawal of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons facilitated the South-North denuclearization declaration, and the 2005 Joint Statement marked the first international agreement explicitly stipulating "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." Subsequent South-North and U.S.-North Korea........

© The Korea Times