TOKYO – American and Japanese diplomats agreed Tuesday to increase pressure on North Korea to resolve tensions over its nuclear program, while noting the need to prepare for the worst if diplomacy fails.
US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, after meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shinsuke Sugiyama, told reporters that the focus at the State Department remains on diplomacy to resolve the problem and eventually denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
“But we must, along with our allies in Japan, South Korea and elsewhere, be prepared for the worst if diplomacy fails,” he added. He added that the United States must be prepared to defend itself and its allies.
In a separate press conference, Sugiyama reiterated Japan’s support for President Donald Trump’s policy of keeping all options open, but stressed the need for a diplomatic solution through strengthening cooperation between Japan, the United States and South Korea, as well as through cooperation with China and Russia.
The two diplomats are scheduled to join their South Korean counterpart in Seoul for further talks on Wednesday on North Korea.
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The talks come as the United States and South Korea hold joint naval exercises this week. These forces regularly conduct joint exercises, although North Korea denounces them as invasion training.
North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations warned Monday that the situation on the peninsula “has reached a tipping point and that a nuclear war could break out at any moment.”
Kim In-ryong told the UN General Assembly’s Disarmament Committee that North Korea was under a direct nuclear threat from the United States and had the right to possess nuclear weapons for self-defense.
He referred to military exercises and what he called an American plan to carry out a “secret operation aimed at overthrowing our supreme leadership.”
Kim’s speech comes in the wake of tough sanctions imposed by the United Nations. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country is working to reduce economic, scientific and other relations with North Korea in line with United Nations sanctions, and the European Union announced new sanctions as well.