Pompeo Discusses North Korean Denuclearization With Japanese Counterpart - State Dept.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono discussed in a phone call denuclearization of North Korea and agreed to closely coordinate efforts to achieve that goal, Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said in a release on Friday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2019) US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono discussed in a phone call denuclearization of North Korea and agreed to closely coordinate efforts to achieve that goal, Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said in a release on Friday.

"Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Kono reaffirmed their shared commitment to the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK and to maintaining our close coordination," Palladino said. "Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Kono affirmed the strength of the US-Japan alliance, and committed to strengthening trilateral cooperation with the Republic of Korea on our unified approach toward the DPRK and other shared challenges."

The call between the two top diplomats comes just days before the scheduled second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, which is slated to take place on February 27-28.

On Wednesday, Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a phone call agreed on close coordination ahead of the upcoming summit with Kim, the White House said.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula has seen a significant improvement last year with Kim boosting ties with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and holding a historic summit with Trump in June.

The first US-North Korean summit in Singapore resulted in an agreement stipulating that Pyongyang would make efforts to promote the complete denuclearization of the peninsula in exchange for the United States and South Korea freezing their military drills.