Press Releases

1. On April 27, the Inter-Korean Summit was held between President Moon Jae-in and Chairman of State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un, and the “Panmunjeom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula”, signed by both leaders, was issued. The Government of Japan commended the efforts by the ROK Government for the realization of this Summit.

2. The Government of Japan welcomes the facts that President Moon and Chairman Kim directly discussed the issues including the denuclearization of North Korea for the first time, and that Chairman Kim’s intention for the denuclearization of North Korea was confirmed in the Declaration, as a positive development for the comprehensive resolution of outstanding issues of concern regarding North Korea.

3. Based on the result of this Inter-Korean Summit and through the occasions such as the upcoming U.S.-North Korea Summit, the Government of Japan strongly hopes that North Korea, in accordance with the provisions of the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, takes concrete actions for the dismantlement of all weapons of mass destruction, including biological and chemical weapons, and ballistic missiles of all ranges in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. The Government of Japan gathers and analyzes information on, and closely monitors the moves of North Korea with grave interest.

4. The position of the Government of Japan remains unchanged that Japan seeks to normalize its relations with North Korea through comprehensive resolution of outstanding issues of concern, such as the abductions, nuclear and missile issues, as well as settlement of the unfortunate past in accordance with the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration. The Government of Japan continues to closely cooperate among Japan-US-ROK.