US Says 'No Change in Policy' Regarding North Korea Denuclearization Goal

The U.S. administration under Donald Trump stated on the 26th, local time, that there is no change in the existing U.S. North Korea policy of achieving the "complete denuclearization of North Korea."

In response to a media inquiry asking whether it could reaffirm that the Trump administration's goal remains the complete denuclearization of North Korea, a U.S. official answered, "There is no change in U.S. policy."

Earlier, President Trump recently ordered a significant scaling back of the South Korea-U.S. joint annual military exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), sending a conciliatory message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un while extending a gesture for dialogue by saying he would meet Kim "within the year."

Particularly on the 19th, after mentioning specific numbers by stating that North Korea possesses 57 nuclear weapons, President Trump avoided answering whether the goal of resuming relations with leader Kim remains denuclearization when asked by a reporter, saying, "I don't want to talk about that."

This was interpreted by some as remarks that could potentially modify the decades-long U.S. stance toward North Korea, making the U.S. official's response on this day noteworthy as it marks the first time a response has been issued following President Trump's recent ambiguous attitude regarding North Korean denuclearization.

Earlier on the 25th, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated regarding concerns that the U.S. might engage in negotiations with North Korea that tolerate its nuclear program, that both South Korea and the U.S. still share the goal of the complete denuclearization of North Korea.

Spokesperson Park Doo-soon of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated during a briefing, "As described in the joint statement of the South Korea-U.S. summit last November, both countries consistently maintain the goals of peace, stability, and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula."
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