'Complete denuclearization' of North Korea remains US policy, says envoy

ANKARA

A US envoy on Monday said that "complete denuclearization" of North Korea remains Washington's policy, South Korean media reported.

Acting US Ambassador to Seoul Kevin Kim made the remark following his meeting with South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, according to the Yonhap news agency.

The explanation came days after the Donald Trump administration released its latest National Security Strategy (NSS), which includes no mention of Pyongyang's denuclearization.

"President Trump and (South Korean) President Lee (Jae Myung) reiterated their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea in the joint fact sheet," Kim told reporters, referring to the joint summit document recently released by the allies.

"That is our Korea policy right now," he said.

Kim said North Korea was among the issues discussed during his meeting with Park, including ways to "best coordinate" on related and other issues.

Responding to a question about whether Washington is open to revising the nuclear energy pact to allow Seoul to enrich uranium and reprocess spent fuel, he said the two sides are "still in discussions."

"We are going to do our best to implement the joint fact sheet," Kim said.

According to the fact sheet released by the White House, after the meeting between Lee and Trump in late October in South Korea's Busan, the two leaders “reiterated their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the DPRK (North Korea) and peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”

Later, North Korea's state-run KCNA said the joint fact sheet released by the White House once again "established a policy of hostility and confrontation" against Pyongyang.

*Writing by Aamir Latif