Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As
 
(Abridged)
 
REPORTER: Starting from tomorrow, for three days, North Korea will dismantle the Punggye-ri Nuclear test site and make the process public. Could you please share with us what aspects the Government will be paying attention to?
 
CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, we welcome North Korea’s dismantlement of the nuclear test site, which is scheduled to commence tomorrow, as a positive move following on from the recent inter-Korean summit. The Government hopes that this measure would lead to further concrete actions towards the dismantlement of all weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles of all ranges by North Korea in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner. We will continue to collaborate closely between Japan and the United States, as well as among Japan, the U.S., and the Republic of Korea also would like to cooperate with the international community, including China and Russia, in order to elicit concrete actions from North Korea through the upcoming U.S.-North Korea summit meeting.
 
REPORTER: I have a related question. Only media outlets from several countries are allowed to eyewitness the site. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other organizations with relevant expertise were not invited. Could you please tell us whether the Government sees this as worthy of the verification of denuclearization?
 
CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: In any event, I have continued to state consistently that any agreement on denuclearization in the U.S.-North Korea summit meeting needs to dismantle all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs in the complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner. On this basis, we believe that consequently it is requested to draw upon the information, experience, and professional knowledge of the IAEA.