At a news conference on Sept. 25, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga commented on President Donald Trump’s indication of his readiness to hold a second summit meeting with North Korea’s Chairman Kim Jong Un. He stressed, “The important thing is the complete and swift implementation of the agreement reached at the U.S.-DPRK summit on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

Suga also took up North Korea’s seeking a declaration on the end of the Korean War. He indicated a cautious stance, saying: “It must contribute to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. We would like to engage in close Japan-U.S. and Japan-U.S.-ROK consultations on this matter.”

The Japanese and U.S. diplomatic authorities share the position that “North Korea must not be given any security guarantee before its denuclearization,” according to a senior Foreign Ministry official. They have confirmed that the U.S. will not agree to issuing a declaration on the end of the Korean War unless prospects become clear for the realization of complete denuclearization.

However, Japan is wary of Trump’s excessive enthusiasm about holding dialogue with North Korea ahead of the midterm congressional elections in November. Japan would like to confirm at the bilateral summit meeting that will take place in New York on Sept. 26 (Sept. 27 in Japan) that pressure on the DPRK will be sustained until denuclearization has been achieved.