Japan is taking a wait-and-see approach before it alters its fundamental assessment of the security dangers posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities.
In the 2018 defense white paper, published on Tuesday, Japanese officials say that despite the flurry of international negotiations since the start of the year, “there is no change in our basic recognition concerning the threat.”
The assessment comes as U.S. President Donald Trump tempers his initially rosy outlook on the outcome of his summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June. In the Trump-Kim joint statement, North Korea committed to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” but the deadlines and time frames were left for subsequent negotiations.
Upon his return to the United States, Trump tweeted: “There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea.” Trump subsequently argued that the denuclearization deal was “being praised and celebrated all over Asia.” However, last week, Trump canceled a planned trip to Pyongyang by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and conceded that American negotiators were not making sufficient progress. As Ankit Panda has pointed out on these pages, North Korea will continue its diplomatic outreach to South Korea and China, even if the U.S. talks are at a roadblock.
Defense of Japan 2018, published by the Japan’s Ministry of Defense, lays bare the sober assessment of officials in Tokyo. While describing the written promise by Kim as “significant,” the document emphasizes that it is important to keep watching for “specific actions” by the regime to eliminate its nuclear and missile capabilities.
