Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un at Singapore summit
Welcoming the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, India on Tuesday hoped that any resolution on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula will address its concerns over Pyongyang’s nuclear proliferation linkages extending to its neighbourhood.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that India supports all efforts to bring about peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy.
“India welcomes the US - DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) Summit held in Singapore. This is a positive development. India has always supported all efforts to bring about peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy,” the External Affairs Ministry said.
“We hope that the outcomes of the US-DPRK Summit will be implemented, thus paving the way for lasting peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula,” it added.
However, in an apparent reference to North Korea’s alleged nuclear proliferation linkages with Pakistan, the MEA said, “We also hope that the resolution of the Korean Peninsula issue will take into account and address our concerns about proliferation linkages extending to India’s neighbourhood.”
India has been pressing for a probe into Kim regime’s proliferation linkages so that those responsible for it be held accountable.
Pakistan had reportedly secretly supplied North Korea with nuclear enrichment technology when A Q Khan headed the country’s nuclear programme.
According to some media reports, Pakistan supplied vital machinery, drawings and technical advice to North Korea, allowing Pyongyang to enrich uranium as early as 2002.
Earlier in the day, Trump and Kim pledged to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and work for finding a peaceful resolution to seven decades of hostilities between the two countries.
While President Trump pledged unspecified “security guarantees” to North Korea, Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his commitment to the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
Trump announced that he will be freezing U.S. military “war games” with its ally South Korea while negotiations between the two countries continue.
However, Trump also made it clear that sanctions against North Korea will remain in place.
Watch: Trump-Kim historic summit takes place in Singapore
