G7 issues joint statement highlighting many hot issues

The joint statement, expected to be released after the summit, will urge North Korea to abandon all weapons of mass destruction and missiles in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. It will also say the G7 will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea and will commit to maintaining maximum pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang until it denuclearizes.

This G7 meeting was chaired by Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland. Photo: AP

G7 ministers are likely to urge North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to take concrete steps toward denuclearization, as upcoming inter-Korean and US-North Korea summits focus on discussing the long-term denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

On the first day of the meeting, in addition to the North Korea issue, top diplomats from the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the European Union (EU) discussed Middle East issues such as the Syrian crisis and the Iran nuclear deal.

Referring to China’s militarization of outposts in disputed waters in the South China Sea and Beijing’s attempts to undermine Japan’s control over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the G7 ministers also expressed “strong opposition” to such unilateral actions, which could change the status quo in the region.

The G7 Ministers also agreed to strengthen cooperation, aiming to build an open and free Indo-Pacific region based on the rule of law.

Meanwhile, according to the Canadian government, on the second day of the meeting, ministers will exchange views on African regional development, cybersecurity, as well as conflict prevention and counter-terrorism.

This G7 meeting, chaired by Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, will lay the foundation for the G7 Summit scheduled to take place on June 8-9 in Charlevoix, Quebec (Canada).