TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th December, 2019) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday during the trilateral meeting with the leaders of China and South Korea that he was ready to expand cooperation between the countries and reaffirmed his commitment to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
The Chinese southwestern city of Chengdu is hosting on Tuesday the 8th summit between China, South Korea and Japan. The sides are expected to discuss trilateral cooperation, de-escalation of tensions around North Korea as well as the current situation in southeastern Asia and other key regions.
"We hope to get an opportunity [during this meeting] to deepen cooperation between our three countries to settle relevant regional issues, including the situation in North Korea, strengthen economies and solve global issues," Abe said at a press conference, as quoted by the Kyodo news agency.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump have met three times since June 2018. However, negotiations on denuclearization have come to a halt with Washington demanding more decisive steps from Pyongyang. North Korea has blamed the US for not properly reciprocating its previous goodwill gestures. As a result, in early December, Pyongyang promised to deliver a "Christmas gift" for Trump unless Washington agreed to make concessions in nuclear talks and ease the sanctions.
Last week, Trump told reporters that the US was closely watching North Korea after reports that Pyongyang had resumed missile tests. In particular, the North Korean academy of National Defense Science announced that it conducted a missile test at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on December 13 after carrying out another one at the same location on December 7. The resumed tests threaten to undermine the US president's diplomatic drive to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
