Japan calls for North Korean steps toward denuclearization

Japan’s leader on Tuesday called on North Korea to take concrete steps toward denuclearization.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that he welcomes any dialogue premised on denuclearization. He spoke ahead of a meeting in Tokyo with South Korea intelligence chief Suh Hoon.

“I believe it is extremely important that North Korea takes concrete actions to achieve what it has said,” Abe said at the beginning of the talks.

President Donald Trump has agreed to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by May, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in is set to meet Kim in late April.

Suh is in Tokyo to brief Japanese officials on developments. He was part of a South Korean delegation that met Kim in Pyongyang last week. Another senior member of the delegation has briefed Chinese officials in Beijing.

Suh said he is in Tokyo to convey Moon’s message that cooperation between the two countries are crucial to push forward a move toward peace on the Korean peninsula and to brief Abe about the latest development on North Korea.

On Monday, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, after meeting with Suh, credited recent changes in North Korea’s position to increased pressure by international society and that the pressure must continue until the North fulfils the promise with concrete actions.

In Beijing on Monday, South Korea’s national security director, Chung Eui-yong met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and praised his role in contributing to the recent positive changes on the Korean Peninsula. Xi told Chung the peninsula was “facing an important opportunity of mitigation and dialogue,” according to state broadcaster CCTV.

North Korea’s foreign trade, more than 90 percent of which passes through China, has taken a hit since Beijing agreed to increasingly harsh U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at pressuring the North into ceasing its nuclear and missile tests and rejoining denuclearization talks.