TIL Desk/World/United Nations/ UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he welcomes the ongoing talks between the US and North Korea to achieve total denuclearization and also supported the Japanese initiative of dialogue with Pyongyang. “As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I am obviously totally committed to the implementation of all relevant Security Council resolutions on North Korea,” he told reporters in Tokyo.
He said he fully supports the negotiations taking place between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) with the objective that “we all share to see a total denuclearization that is verifiable, that is irreversible, to make sure that North Korea can be a normal member of the international community in this region.”
The UN extended its full support for the Japanese initiative of dialogue with North Korea. In June, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a historic summit in Singapore, signing a joint statement which included a pledge to end DPRK’s nuclear weapons programme.
Days after conducting its sixth nuclear test last September, a North Korean ballistic missile flew over mainland Japan, drawing condemnation from the Security Council, which had just ratcheted up sanctions. Flanked by Japanese leader Shinzo Abe, Guterres went on to express his support for Japan’s willingness to hold fresh talks with the North Korean leadership, following Prime Minister Abe’s offer of a high-level summit with the country.
