Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported today that South Korea, China, and Japan continued to clash over the phrase 'denuclearization' to be included in the joint declaration right before the trilateral summit.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the draft joint declaration included the phrase "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is a common goal," but the joint declaration released after the summit "reemphasized our respective positions on peace and stability in the region, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the kidnapping issue." He said he stopped short of mentioning that.
Comparing the draft reported by Yomiuri with the final declaration, the word 'complete' was omitted and the expression that Korea, China and Japan jointly pursue denuclearization was not included.
The newspaper also reported that South Korea, the chairman, put pressure on China, saying, "We included 'complete denuclearization' in the joint document of the 2019 meeting," but China strongly opposed it.
The Chinese side is known to have claimed that “the strengthening of pressure on North Korea through joint exercises between the South Korean military, the U.S. military, and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces is leading to tension on the Korean Peninsula.”
For this reason, the discussions continued until the morning of the 27th, the day of the summit, and the three countries eventually reached an agreement in the joint declaration at the level of stating that each party emphasized its position, Yomiuri reported.
Yomiuri reported that a South Korean government official said of the consultation process, "It was as if four countries, including North Korea, were discussing."
In addition, the draft joint declaration included the phrase, 'Attempts to unilaterally change the status quo through force and coercion cannot be tolerated anywhere in the world,' but it was deleted due to strong opposition from China, Yomiuri reported.