The U.S. State Department said North Korea’s decision to abstain from the Tokyo Olympics appears to be consistent with what it has been sternly dealing with the novel coronavirus infection. It also announced that it will continue to cooperate closely with South Korea and Japan on the North Korean issue. Reporter Kim Young-gyo reports.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a regular briefing on the 6th, when asked about North Korea’s absence from the Tokyo Olympics, “we are aware of reports that North Korea has decided not to participate in the Summer Olympics.”
[녹취: 프라이스 대변인] “We are aware of reports that North Korea has decided not to participate in the Summer Olympics, which would appear consistent, in fact, with the DPRK is stringent response to COVID-19.”
A spokesman for Price said North Korea’s actions appear to be consistent with what North Korea has been taking seriously against the new coronavirus infection.
He said the United States will continue to cooperate closely with South Korea and Japan on the North Korean issue, pursuing the common goal of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region.
[녹취: 프라이스 대변인] “We will continue to coordinate closely with the Republic of Korea, and with Japan on DPRK issues in pursuit of our shared goals of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and across the Indo Pacific, of course.”
Earlier, on the 5th, North Korea announced on the’Chosun Sports’ website operated by the Ministry of Sports and Sports that it has decided not to participate in the Tokyo Olympics to protect athletes from the new coronavirus.
In a briefing today, Price also said the meeting of the US-Korea and Japan security chiefs held later last week at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, near Washington, was part of the US policy review process.
[녹취: 프라이스 대변인] “The White House spoke late last week to the trilateral meeting between the National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and his South Korean and Japanese counterparts at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, all of this is part of the ongoing review that we have underway when it comes to our North Korea policy.”
A spokesman for Price added that the review of North Korea policy is still underway, and that he does not want to predict how the review will end.
[녹취: 프라이스 대변인] “This review is still underway. I wouldn’t want to get ahead of where this review might end up, but we will continue to focus on reducing the threat to the United States, as well as to our partners, as well as to our treaty allies in the Indo-Pacific , as we remain committed to the principle of denuclearization of North Korea.”
“We will continue to focus on reducing the threat to our partners, our treaty alliances in the Indo-Pacific and the United States, while continuing to be committed to the principles of North Korea’s denuclearization,” Price said.
This is VOA News.