U.S. Indo-Pacific commander assures Japan over North Korean denuclearisation
TOKYO (Reuters) - The U.S. Indo-Pacific military commander told Japan's defence minister on Thursday that Washington remained committed to the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of North Korea.
Promoted to commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) last month, Admiral Philip Davidson gave the assurance during his first official visit to Japan for two days of talks with Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera.
His visit comes after President Donald Trump said the United States would halt large scale military drills with neighbouring South Korea during denuclearisation talks with North Korea. Trump made that announcement following a summit with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore earlier this month.
"The U.S. is firmly committed to the complete verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and I am committed to our mutual alliance," Davidson said at the outset of talks with Onodera in Tokyo.
Japan, which hosts some 50,000 U.S. military personnel, including the biggest overseas concentration of U.S. Marines and a U.S. Navy carrier strike group, relies on the Washington for its defence and operates closely with its military.
"We need to closely watch North Korea's steps toward denuclearisation. The Japan U.S. alliance plays a crucial role in this," Onodera said.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
