U.S. Maintains N. Korea Denuclearization as Official Policy

(MENAFN) Washington maintains its objective of "complete denuclearization" for North Korea as official policy, a US diplomatic representative declared Monday, according to South Korean media outlets.

Acting US Ambassador to Seoul Kevin Kim delivered the clarification following discussions with South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, a South Korean news agency reported.

Kim's statement arrives days after the Donald Trump administration published its updated National Security Strategy (NSS)—a document conspicuously absent of any reference to Pyongyang's denuclearization objectives.

The envoy pointed to recent bilateral commitments: "President Trump and (South Korean) President Lee (Jae Myung) reiterated their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea in the joint fact sheet," Kim informed reporters, citing the allies' recently issued summit documentation.

"That is our Korea policy right now," he stated.

Kim confirmed that North Korean matters dominated his agenda with Park, including strategies to "best coordinate" on interconnected diplomatic challenges.

When questioned about potential revisions to the nuclear energy agreement that would permit Seoul to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel, the ambassador indicated ongoing deliberations: the two nations are "still in discussions."

"We are going to do our best to implement the joint fact sheet," Kim emphasized.

The White House-issued fact sheet, released after the late October meeting between Lee and Trump in South Korea's Busan, documented that both leaders "reiterated their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the DPRK (North Korea) and peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."

North Korean media subsequently condemned the White House joint fact sheet, asserting it once again "established a policy of hostility and confrontation" targeting Pyongyang.

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