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2018 April 4 - 10 TOP3 [JCP]

JCP calls for efforts to denuclearize Korean Peninsula and build peace structure in integrated and phased manner

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on April 6 issued a statement calling on the Six Parties to work for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the building of a peace structure in an integrated and phased manner. The full text of his statement is as follows:

JCP calls for efforts to denuclearize Korean Peninsula and build peace structure in integrated and phased manner

Shii Kazuo
Chair, Japanese Communist Party
Member of the House of Representatives of Japan
Tokyo
April 6, 2018

(1)
North and South Korea have agreed to hold a summit meeting on April 27, and another summit is expected to be held between the US and North Korea by the end of May. I welcome these moves to work toward a peaceful resolution of North Korea’s nuclear and missile issues through diplomatic means and sincerely hope that these efforts will lead to success.

Since the end of World War II, the Japanese Communist Party has consistently fought for the abolition of nuclear weapons as a political party of the only atomic-bombed country in the world. We have strongly opposed any and all attempts to wage wars in Northeast Asia and have called for a peaceful resolution of the North Korea issue through dialogue.

I call on the states concerned which share the responsibility in peace in Northeast Asia to take into consideration the following two points in engaging in the forthcoming negotiations.

(2)
First is to promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the building of a permanent peace structure in Northeast Asia in an integrated and comprehensive manner.

The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, including a complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea, should be the main goal of the dialogue and negotiations between the countries concerned. Along with this, it is important to build a peace structure in Northeast Asia by easing tensions and improving and normalizing the relations between North and South Korea, between the U.S. and North Korea, and between Japan and North Korea.

Denuclearization is an essential prerequisite for creating a peace structure in the region. In addition, to promote the denuclearization process, it is also essential to put an end to the hostilities, including officially ending the Korean War, build a peace structure in the entire region, and resolve security concerns affecting the relevant countries. These two goals will be achieved by pursuing them in parallel.

As the foundation of a road map to accomplish these goals, the joint statement of the Six-Party Talks in 2005 is still highly relevant. In addition, the 1992 Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the 2002 Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration, the North-South Joint Declarations signed in 2000 and in 2007, and the 2000 U.S.-North Korea Joint Communique are significant agreements which the coming talks should be based on.

The issue of the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea is an international humanitarian problem and many Japanese people strongly hope for an early settlement of this issue as well. We call for the settlement of the abduction issue in accordance with the 2005 joint statement and the Pyongyang Declaration which call for comprehensive resolution of pending issues between the two countries: North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, a settlement of contentious historical issues, and normalization of diplomatic relations.

Now is the time to put into practice these international agreements. The JCP urges the nations concerned to work for the denuclearization and the building of a peace structure in a unified manner in line with the series of international agreements.

(3)
Secondly, we believe it is realistic for the countries concerned to take an incremental approach to discuss what measures need to be taken to achieve their shared goals and implement them in a timely fashion.

It will be difficult to achieve the denuclearization of the peninsula and establish a peace structure in a single stroke even if they are agreed upon as common objectives. Thus, we believe it is practical to implement necessary steps in stages to overcome the mutual mistrust and build confidence among the countries involved.

In this regard, it is of importance to pay attention to the recognition of the 2005 Six Parties Joint Statement which calls for the six parties to “implement the consensus in a phased manner in line with the principle of ‘commitment for commitment, action for action.’”

In accordance with the principle, the international sanctions already in place against North Korea should not be lifted unless North Korea expresses its willingness to commit itself to and act for denuclearization.

Although the joint statement failed to be fully implemented, we have to point out that the cause of the failure is in the lack of adherence to the principle of “action for action.” We urge the parties concerned to make sincere and continuous efforts to achieve the goal by taking into account the reasons behind the past failure to reach this goal.

(4)
We believe that all parties concerned as well as the entire international community strongly agree that the world must avoid starting a war, which will inevitably result in catastrophe affecting the entire world. Making the current situation which is characterized by mistrust and hostility into one marked by reconciliation and cooperation will, without doubt, enormously contribute to peace and stability.

To that end, again, we call for all states concerned to do their utmost to resolve the issue peacefully through diplomatic means.