President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., together with US President Joe Biden, and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday affirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and warned Russia on the use of nuclear weapon in its ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
“Our three nations affirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and strongly condemn the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) escalatory threats and unprecedented number of ballistic missile launches, including multiple intercontinental ballistic missile launches,” the three leaders said in the Joint Vision Statement released after their historic Trilateral meeting in Washington DC.
“We emphasize the importance of addressing the human rights and humanitarian concerns of the international community, including the immediate resolution of the abductions issue. We strongly urge the DPRK (Democratic Republic of Korea) to comply with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and refrain from continued development, testing, and transfer of ballistic missiles to any country, including Russia, which has used these missiles against Ukraine,” they said.
The three leaders asserted that North Korea’s actions carry severe security implications for the Indo-Pacific and European regions. They also reiterated their unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
They recalled the UN General Assembly resolutions condemning the illegal territorial acquisition of any country through threat or use of force.
“Russia’s threats of nuclear weapon use in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are unacceptable, and we state unequivocally that any use of a nuclear weapon by Russia in Ukraine would be completely unjustifiable,” they said.
The three leaders also reaffirmed their joint pursuit of a world without nuclear weapons, with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as its cornerstone, and called on nuclear weapon states to promote stability and transparency, and engage in substantive dialogue on reducing nuclear risks. PND
