Seoul, Washington reaffirm commitment to N. Korean denuclearization
SEOUL, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The top diplomats of the United States and South Korea reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and the enforcement of international sanctions against Pyongyang during a meeting in Washington on Thursday, both governments said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held their first talks since the election of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung last month. Their meeting took place one day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a tariff deal with Seoul and said that he would host a summit with Lee at the White House within two weeks.
The two diplomats "reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of the DPRK [and] the full implementation of international sanctions," State Dept. spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a readout Thursday.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
They also "expressed serious concerns about North Korea's increasing military cooperation with Russia," Bruce said.
North Korea has deployed troops, artillery and weapons to Russia to aid in Moscow's war against Ukraine, and is believed to be receiving much-needed financial support and advanced military technology for its own weapons programs in return.
The diplomats "both welcomed the announcement of a full and complete trade deal and the forthcoming visit of ROK President Lee Jae Myung to Washington," Bruce added, using the official acronym for South Korea.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a readout of the meeting on Friday, saying Rubio and Cho "agreed to maintain a robust combined defense posture and firmly uphold the goal of North Korea's complete denuclearization."
Cho also revisited President Lee's invitation for Trump to attend the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which will be held in Gyeongju from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1. Rubio said Washington "is well aware of this and will actively consider it," according to the ministry.
On Tuesday, North Korea dismissed the notion of engaging in nuclear negotiations with President Trump.
"Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state ... will be thoroughly rejected," Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement carried by official media.
"The recognition of the irreversible position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state ... should be a prerequisite for predicting and thinking everything in the future," she said
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