Pentagon: Mattis Reviews Inter-Korean Declaration

US Defense Secretary James Mattis met with South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha to review April’s inter-Korean declaration and discuss the planned US-North Korea summit, the Pentagon said.

"Minister Kang reviewed the Panmunjeom Declaration, and the efforts to improve North-South relations while achieving the common goal of denuclearization," Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said.

The two officials met in Washington DC on Friday. Kang also held talks with her US counterpart Michael Pompeo. The flurry of diplomacy comes ahead of next month’s summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un of North Korea in Singapore.

"Secretary Mattis and Minister Kang shared their hope that the upcoming US-North Korea talks scheduled for June 12 would provide a historic opportunity to reach a diplomatic resolution that achieves complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea," White added.

Mattis reaffirmed his nation’s "ironclad commitment" to protect its Asian ally. Both sides also vowed to coordinate on the implementation of UN resolutions on North Korea and support ongoing diplomatic engagements.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in met Kim Jong-un for a rare summit on April 27 at the border village of Panmunjeom. T

he two leaders agreed to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons and sign a peace accord later this year. Denuclearization is expected to dominate Kim’s summit with Trump.