Japan's defense chief urges caution over NKorea
Japan's defense minister has urged the international community to keep sanctions and surveillance on North Korea, saying it has a history of reneging on agreements.
Itsunori Onodera says North Korea agreed to give up nuclear weapons as early as 1994, but has continued to develop them in secret and until last year threatened surrounding countries with a series of ballistic missile launches.
He says: "In light of how North Korea has behaved in the past, I believe that it is important not to reward North Korea solely for agreeing to have a dialogue."
He adds, "We have seen history repeat, where North Korea would declare to denuclearize, thereby portraying itself as conciliatory and forthcoming, only to turn around to void all international efforts towards peace."
Onodera told an international security conference in Singapore, which is hosting the June 12 summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, that the only way to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula is to "ensure that North Korea will take concrete actions towards realizing the (complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement) of all weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles of all flight ranges in accordance with the series of UN Security Council resolutions."
