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  "path": "/partner/seoul-tokyo-reaffirm-korean-peninsula-denuclearization",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-28T05:07:23.000Z",
  "site": "https://nukta.com",
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nThe defense ministers of South Korea and Japan reaffirmed Sunday their commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, even as Pyongyang repeatedly pledges to expand its nuclear arsenal.\n\nSouth Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back met Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi in Seoul during a two-day visit, with both sides agreeing to deepen defense cooperation.\n\n### What did South Korea and Japan agree on denuclearization?\n\nBoth ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace. They also agreed to continue bilateral cooperation and trilateral coordination with the United States, according to a statement from Seoul's defense ministry released after the meeting.\n\n### Why are South Korea and Japan strengthening defense ties?\n\nSeoul and Tokyo are both U.S. security allies, but military cooperation between them has long been hampered by historical tensions rooted in Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century. The Sunday meeting follows the two countries' first joint maritime search-and-rescue exercise in nine years, a step widely seen as a sign of warming defense relations. Both sides agreed to explore additional ways to deepen cooperation going forward.\n\n### What has North Korea vowed about its nuclear arsenal?\n\nThe renewed denuclearization pledge comes as North Korea has moved in the opposite direction. Kim Jong Un vowed earlier this month to expand his country's defense capabilities, citing South Korean and U.S. military modernization efforts he claimed were pushing the region to the edge of nuclear conflict. He also pledged to equip North Korea's navy with nuclear weapons and construct larger warships.\n\n### Why does North Korea consider itself a nuclear state?\n\nPyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an irreversible nuclear state since a 2019 summit between Kim and then-U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi collapsed over disagreements on the scope of denuclearization and sanctions relief. North Korea technically remains at war with South Korea, as the Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. That unresolved status has long complicated diplomatic efforts to achieve lasting stability on the peninsula.",
  "title": "South Korea, Japan reaffirm pledge to denuclearize Korean Peninsula"
}