MFA Press Release: Supplementary Questions During The Committee Of Supply Debate, 1 March 2018

MP Vikram Nair: Let me focus on one particular issue Minister flagged out, and that was the threat of fake news. Is there any concern that Minister has on fake news, say from foreign state actors or players that we may have to be concerned about?

Minister: Yes.

MP Low Thia Kiang: May I know what is our relationship with North Korea?

Minister: There is a North Korean Embassy in Singapore.  I personally have not met the Ambassador.  North Korea also attends our ARF meetings but our approach, as I explained earlier, is to just fully comply with the United Nations Security Council resolutions.  That is our regulatory and our enforcement.  Let me paint the larger dimension behind North Korea.  If North Korea effectively nuclearises, quite apart from the dynamics with the US, the other consequential effects are what it means for South Korea and Japan, and whether they will also view that they need to have their own deterrence.  Again to use the Cold War analogy, when you have two superpowers working on deterrence based on mutually assured destruction – well we survived.  But can you imagine a Northeast Asia – which as Mr Low would know – unfortunately historical wounds have not fully healed – with all of them nuclear-armed, and all promising mutually assured destruction. I think it is a very dangerous situation.  So as I have said, we do not have a say but we will comply with all UN Security Council resolutions. 

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
1 MARCH 2018