Japan Council against A and H Bombs welcomes US-DPRK Summit Call

Yasui Masakazu, Secretary-General, Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Gensuikyo), has issued the following statement welcoming the US-North Korea Agreement on Denuclearisation of and Building a               Peace Regime on the Korean Peninsula.

1. On June 12 in Singapore, President Donald Trump of the USA and Chairman Kim Jon Un of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK (North Korea) held the first US-DPRK Summit in history, and signed the Joint Statement.

The Joint Statement confirmed the four major points, including “the establishment of new US-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire

of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity” instead of the past hostile relations; the statement dwelt on “building a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula” and the “commitment to work toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula”.

We have consistently called for the resolution of the problems through peaceful means and proposed that the denuclearisation of the Korean

Peninsula should be promoted in an integrated and comprehensive manner in building a peace regime in Northeast Asia. We heartily welcome that based on these points the two leaders are determined to “overcome decades of tensions and hostilities between the two countries for the opening up of a new future” and “commit to implement the stipulations in this joint agreement fully and expeditiously”.

We urge the two countries to swiftly bring into shape and sincerely implement the joint agreement.

2. This historic summit clearly shows that peaceful settlement through dialogue is the only way to resolve problems. Saying that “having

talks is a waste of time” and calling for “placing maximum pressure (on DPRK)”, the Japanese Government has resorted to strong-arm tactics. The danger and failure of this stance has been already made clear.

Based on the past agreements, including the “Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration (2002)”, the Government of Japan should make sincere

efforts for peace, the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and the normalisation of the two countries. At the same time, as the government of the only A-bombed country in the Asian region, it must commit to promoting the global current for achieving a nuclear weapons-free world.

3. In order to make a success of the peace process initiated by the Inter-Korean Summit in April and this US-DPRK Summit to achieve the

denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and the building of a peace regime in Northeast Asia, coordinated efforts by countries concerned

and the international community, especially public support and movements of the peoples of the world aspiring for a nuclear weapons-free world, are essential.

As the movement of the only country to have suffered the atomic bombing, we are determined to make every effort to develop the movement and achieve the success of the forthcoming 2018 World Conference against A and H Bombs.