UN chief ¡®deeply concerned¡¯ over cancellation of US-North Korea summit
United Nations Secretary-General Ant¨®nio Guterres said on Thursday that he was ¡°deeply concerned¡± by the cancellation of the planned meeting between the leaders of the United States and the Democratic People¡¯s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Speaking in Geneva on Thursday, where the Secretary-General unveiled his new Agenda for Disarmament, Mr. Guterres called on the two parties ¡°to continue their dialogue to find a path to the peaceful and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.¡±
US President Donald Trump was due to sit down to discuss denuclearizing the Peninsula with DPRK¡¯s leader, Kim Jong Un, for what would have been the first ever face-to-face meeting between the leaders of the two countries.
The US announcement came just a few hours after an announcement from the DPRK, that it had dismantled and closed its nuclear test site at Punggye-ri.
The closure has, however, not been verified by international experts.
A spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said it was ¡°regrettable that international experts were not invited¡± to the site closing.
The statement added that Mr. Guterres hopes the site¡¯s closure will contribute to efforts towards sustainable peace in the region.
The leaders of the two Koreas held a historic meeting on the line dividing their two countries at the end of last month.
Source: United Nations (www.un.org)