Defense Secretary James Mattis has said at the 2018 Shangri-La Dialogue summit that North Korea needs to implement and demonstrate denuclearization efforts for the country to be relieved from UN sanctions, CNN reported Sunday.
Mattis, a 2018 Wash100 awardee, noted that cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the U.S. is essential in convincing Pyongyang to halt its nuclear plans.
“When we consider the unity of purpose among our three democracies… we see that our security cooperation is needed more than ever, providing a stabilizing effect in support of our interests for peace, deterrence and stability,†he added.
President Donald Trump recently confirmed that he would with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on June 12 and both leaders are expected to tackle the matter at their meeting.
Regional allies of the U.S. expressed their concerns over Trump potentially arranging a deal with Kim that would see North Korea surrender its long-range missiles for sanctions relief but keep its short-range weapons, according to the report.