Steelwell US Deputy Secretary of State: "After Singapore Agreement Follow-up, North Korea to Address Floods and COVID"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] David Stilwell, U.S. Department of State Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, emphasized on the 14th (local time) that if North Korea resumes serious talks for denuclearization, the flood damage, typhoons, and COVID-19 damages that North Korea is experiencing could be resolved.

In a phone conference with the press on the same day, regarding questions about North Korea's flood and COVID-19 situation, Assistant Secretary Stilwell said, "Regarding the situation in North Korea such as floods and typhoons, I will return to the necessity of denuclearization," adding, "All of these issues will be resolved if we take follow-up actions on the Singapore Agreement to start serious talks about denuclearization." He continued, "We need to return to the original agreement," emphasizing, "We need to insist that they take follow-up actions on that agreement."

The Singapore Agreement emphasized by Assistant Secretary Stilwell refers to the commitments made during the first North Korea-U.S. summit held in Singapore in June 2018, where U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un met and pledged efforts toward North Korea's denuclearization, establishment of new North Korea-U.S. relations, and building a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

Earlier, at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) held virtually last week, when asked whether the U.S. had contacted North Korean officials, Assistant Secretary Stilwell only replied, "The North Korean delegation was there and made a statement. They were definitely there," without mentioning whether any contact occurred. The ARF is the only multilateral security consultation body that North Korea participates in, and for this meeting, North Korea was represented virtually by Ambassador An Gwang-il, the North Korean Ambassador to Indonesia and Permanent Representative to ASEAN.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.