Page 30 - 2020 Defence White Paper

event on May 24 to dismantle the Punggye-ri nuclear test site to which international
journalists were invited. On June 12, 2018, the first-ever US–North Korea Summit
took place in Singapore, and North Korea agreed to build new relations with the US,
denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, and repatriate the remains of US soldiers killed in
the Korean War. The remains of 55 soldiers were repatriated on July 27.
However, the relationship between the US has been stalled since the breakdown
of the US–North Korea Hanoi Summit in February 2019. The two countries agreed
to resume working-level negotiations at a sudden meeting between the leaders of
the ROK, North Korea and the US in June, but the working-level negotiations in
Stockholm in October ended without signif cant results.
At the conclusion of the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee
announced in early 2020, Pyongyang declared that it would continue to develop
strategic weapons until the hostile US policy is withdrawn and a peace regime on
the Korean Peninsula is established. In addition, in commemoration of the second
anniversary of the Singapore summit, North Korea again emphasized its "nuclear
war deterrence," insisting that it would not resume negotiations until corresponding
compensations from the US are made, thus prolonging the deadlock in US–North
Korea dialogue.

Meanwhile, North Korea unveiled a new type of ICBM and SLBM during a military
parade marking the Party̕s 75th anniversary in October 2020. "War deterrence"
was also declared, emphasizing that it would not be used "preemptively" without
mentioning the US thus leaving room for future dialogue with the US.
North Korea’s relationship with Japan has seen no concrete progress despite the
Stockholm Agreement signed in May 2014. Prime Minister Abe expressed his
28)
willingness to hold an "unconditional summit" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-
un after the US–North Korea summit in 2019. In September, North Korea-Japan
friendly delegates from Yamanashi Prefecture visited North Korea. Since taking
office in September 2020, Yoshihide Suga has also expressed his enthusiasm to
meet with Leader Kim without conditions to resolve the abduction issue. However,
28) talks between North Korea and Japan have yet to begin in earnest, with North Korea
During the director-level demanding for settlement of unresolved issues from the Japanese colonial era and for
talks between the two
countries’ foreign ministries a shift from Japan’s pressure policy against North Korea.
held in Stockholm,
Sweden, on May 26, 2014, North Korea’s relations with China have fluctuated due to North Korea’s nuclear
North Korea agreed to
launch a new inquiry into development program. Bilateral relations were strained after North Korea’s third
Japanese abductees and
other Japanese nationals nuclear test in 2013, but through five summit meetings from 2018 to 2019, the
who are residing in its
territory in exchange for the traditional friendship with China was restored. The North Korea-China summit
partial easing of sanctions
imposed by Japan. was held before and after the US–North Korea dialogue thereby strengthening their

2020 Defense White Paper