Seoul & Washington ‘to push for diplomacy’ with Pyongyang as they mark 70th anniversary of Korean War start

South Korea and the United States have urged Pyongyang to implement the disarmament pledges it made in previous negotiations.

In a statement on Thursday marking the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, the allies said they “remain firmly committed” to “supporting ongoing diplomatic efforts for the complete denuclearization” of North Korea.

The joint statement, issued by South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, comes a day after Pyongyang announced it would suspend steps that would have nullified deals struck in 2018, raising fears of a new escalation on the Korean Peninsula.

After the Singapore summit in June 2018 with US President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged that his country would commit to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” However, the agreement did not specify how and when disarmament steps would take place.