WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) — Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel said the United States and China is to reaffirm existing commitments to peace and economic support to North Korea, if Pyongyang pursues denuclearization.
The Obama administration’s top diplomat for East Asia made the remarks ahead of a high-profile meeting on Friday between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Obama, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
Russel said if North Korea joins the member nations of the six-party talks in upholding the Sept. 19 Joint Statement of 2005, commits to denuclearization, and complies with its international obligations, the Korean armistice would be replaced with a peace treaty and relations would be normalized with the United States. Economic assistance would also be provided to Pyongyang as promised, Russel said.
Russel said North Korea’s violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions, its pursuit of nuclear weapons development and ballistic missile launches were placing ordinary North Koreans under severe constraints. The development gap between North and South has increased as a result, the U.S. diplomat said.
Speaking at the same press briefing, Dan Kritenbrink, senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, said North Korea would be a key topic of discussion during the U.S.-China summit on Friday, South Korean news network YTN reported. Xi and Obama are expected to devote a significant amount of time to issues on the Korean peninsula.
Russel said the United States and China are in agreement regarding North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and both sides are requesting Pyongyang give up proliferation. Assistance would follow but Pyongyang also would need to implement measures that can be trusted and verified in connection with the nuclear issue.
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