Monday’s Nikkei, Sankei, and Tokyo Shimbun ran a Kyodo story saying that Foreign Minister Kono commented on the importance of strong unity between the United States, Japan, and South Korea in dealing with the DPRK by telling reporters in Brunei on Sunday that Tokyo will coordinate firmly with Washington and Seoul to achieve the ultimate goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula by not being swayed by North Korea’s “smile diplomacy.” Kono pointed out that North Korea’s intention to develop nuclear weapons and missiles has not changed because it conducted a military parade on the eve of the opening of the PyeongChang Olympics in an apparent effort to show off its missiles.