Seoul: Seoul and Washington's choice of the expression "denuclearization of North Korea" instead of "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" better reflects the irregularities of the regime's nuclear development and the necessity of dismantling its nuclear program, an official said Thursday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the foreign ministry's spokesperson, Lee Jae-woong, made the point a day after South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Hyun-dong said the word choice had been agreed upon between South Korea and the Trump administration.
The allies have used the two expressions interchangeably in the past to demand North Korea's denuclearization, but the second Trump administration agreed to consistently use "denuclearization of North Korea," the envoy said.
During a press briefing, Lee said the expression "clarifies North Korea's breach of its obligations and the necessity of compliance."
"It is North Korea that is illegally developing nuclear weapons," Lee said, referring to U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding North Korea verifiably and irreversibly dismantle all of its nuclear programs.