[Full Text] Joint Statement of the Korea-US-Japan Summit "Establishment of a Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat"

Three-Nation Leaders "Strongly Condemn North Korea's Deployment of Troops to Russia"

U.S. President Joe Biden is listening attentively to President Yoon Suk-yeol's remarks at the Korea-U.S.-Japan summit held at the Lima Convention Center in Peru on the 15th (local time). Photo by Yonhap News

President Yoon Suk-yeol of the Republic of Korea, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who are visiting Peru to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, held a trilateral summit on the 15th (local time) and agreed to establish a 'Korea-U.S.-Japan Cooperation Secretariat.'

Additionally, Presidents Yoon and Biden and Prime Minister Ishiba strongly condemned North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia for participation in the Ukraine conflict.

The following is the full text of the joint statement.

▲The leaders of the Republic of Korea, the United States of America, and Japan gathered under the spirit of Camp David to commemorate the remarkable progress achieved by our three countries since the 2023 trilateral summit. Korea, the U.S., and Japan unite in our commitment to promote human rights, democracy, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. We seek to align our joint efforts to ensure the continued success of our peoples, the region, and the world. We firmly uphold support for a free and open rules-based international order. Our collective actions will continue to strengthen regional and global peace and stability, paving the way for the future.

Over the past 15 months, we have built a sustainable trilateral partnership. Today, we announce the establishment of the 'Korea-U.S.-Japan Secretariat' to coordinate and implement our shared will. The newly established secretariat will ensure that our joint efforts align more closely with our goals and actions to make the Indo-Pacific a prosperous, connected, resilient, stable, and secure region.

We welcome the expansion of trilateral security cooperation, including the successful conduct of 'Freedom Edge,' the first-ever trilateral multi-domain exercise, held twice, and the signing of the 'Korea-U.S.-Japan Security Cooperation Framework Memorandum of Cooperation' to institutionalize trilateral cooperation among defense authorities. Our defense cooperation among the three countries is expanding from existing high-level policy consultations, information sharing, trilateral exercises, and defense exchanges to annual meetings of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and ministerial meetings. Korea, the U.S., and Japan are enhancing interoperability through real-time information sharing on North Korea's ballistic missile launches and strengthening ballistic missile defense capabilities. We are promoting junior officer exchanges to strengthen interoperability and human ties among the three militaries. President Biden reaffirmed the United States' ironclad defense commitments to the Republic of Korea and Japan and reiterated the U.S. intention to strengthen extended deterrence cooperation through the Korea-U.S. and U.S.-Japan alliances. These measures underscore our commitment to trilateral consultations on regional challenges, provocations, and threats affecting our shared interests and security.

We strongly condemn North Korea and Russia for violating multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, especially in light of North Korea's decision to deploy troops to Russia for participation in the Ukraine war. Korea, the U.S., and Japan strongly condemn the leaders of North Korea and Russia for dangerously escalating Russia's unilateral war of aggression against Ukraine. The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, including arms and ballistic missile transfers, is particularly serious given Russia's status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. We maintain a firm stance in supporting Ukraine's exercise of its inherent right of self-defense as stipulated in Article 51 of the UN Charter.

We reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions. We pledge to respond firmly to any violations or evasions of UN Security Council resolutions related to North Korea and any attempts to undermine the international non-proliferation regime. Korea, the U.S., and Japan support the activities of the newly launched Multinational Sanctions Monitoring Team for comprehensive and effective monitoring and reporting on the implementation of UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea. We express serious concerns about North Korea's illicit revenue-generating methods, including arms transactions, malicious cyber activities, and dispatching overseas workers to fund its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. To better protect against North Korea's illicit activities, we will expand trilateral efforts to counter North Korea's malicious cyber programs and illicit revenue generation, including capacity-building cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. Our three countries continue to urge adherence to shared international norms and responsible behavior in cyberspace to protect critical public infrastructure endangered by disruptive and destabilizing cyber activities. Prime Minister Ishiba and President Biden clearly expressed support for President Yoon's vision of a free, peaceful, and prosperous Korean Peninsula and reaffirmed support for a free and peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula. Recognizing the inseparable relationship between North Korean human rights issues and international peace and security, we promote the enhancement of human rights in North Korea and call for the immediate resolution of issues concerning abductees, detainees, and unrepatriated Korean War prisoners of war.

We reaffirm the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. We reaffirm our unwavering support for ASEAN centrality, unity, and ASEAN-led regional architecture. We commit to working closely with ASEAN to strongly implement and mainstream the 'ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.' We express concerns about illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and take this opportunity to announce a new 'Trilateral Maritime Security and Law Enforcement Cooperation Framework' that will strengthen cooperation on shared regional challenges and protect a rules-based approach to the maritime domain.

We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific waters and recognize the importance of opposing illegal maritime territorial claims in the South China Sea. We firmly oppose the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels and coercive actions in the South China Sea. We express support for the global maritime order based on international law, including freedom of navigation and overflight, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We recognize that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are essential to the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region. Our fundamental position on Taiwan remains unchanged, and we urge the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is visiting Peru to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, is speaking at the Korea-US-Japan summit held at the Lima Convention Center in Peru on the 15th (local time). Photo by Yonhap News

Korea, the U.S., and Japan will deepen trilateral economic partnerships, including continued close cooperation in economic security. The U.S. and Japan look forward to Korea hosting the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit and welcome Korea's assumption of the chairmanship of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP). Japan and the U.S. will work closely with Korea to accelerate MSP initiatives. We recognize MSP as an important forum for developing more diverse and sustainable critical mineral supply chains. We welcome progress made through the Resilient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Economy (RISE) partnership. We assess that the Korea-U.S.-Japan Economic Security Dialogue is deepening trilateral cooperation on economic security issues and welcome the regular and active consultations among the three countries for early warning information exchange on supply chain disruptions. We evaluate the successful first meeting of the trilateral finance ministers and look forward to the next meeting. We will continue to cooperate for sustainable economic growth, fiscal stability, and orderly functioning financial markets. We assess the successful launch of the first trilateral ministers of commerce and industry meeting and look forward to the next meeting. We reaffirm our longstanding commitment to empower women economically through upcoming events such as the 2024 Korea-U.S.-Japan Women’s Economic Empowerment Conference to be held soon in Washington. We commend women leaders striving to address barriers to entry and advancement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Furthermore, under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) supply chain agreement, we will strengthen cooperation to ensure member countries' access to essential goods during emergencies within the Crisis Response Network (CRN), chaired by Korea and vice-chaired by Japan.

We agree on the need for trilateral cooperation on technology security, standards, and trustworthy ecosystems and commit to creating a trilateral framework to further develop cooperation on next-generation critical emerging technologies. We commend the successful launch of the trilateral technology leadership training program focused on semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, the digital economy, biotechnology, cybersecurity, energy, and space, which provides training and exchanges for policymakers. Additionally, Korea, the U.S., and Japan are cooperating to accelerate the establishment of a trustworthy AI ecosystem. We are enhancing protection of critical technologies and engagement on AI safety, as well as strengthening commercial cooperation on AI chips. Through the 'Bio-5' alliance, we are cooperating to build resilient supply chains for raw pharmaceutical materials. As founding members of the Quantum Development Group, we look forward to further strengthening cooperation on our quantum ecosystem supply chains and trusted investments. We proudly note the launch of IBM's new quantum workforce program, which will train 40,000 students over the next decade in partnership with universities in Korea, the U.S., and Japan. We also welcome cooperation among national research institutes of the three countries and emphasize the importance of the successful launch of the Innovation Technology Protection Network, essential for countering illicit technology transfers.

Korea, the U.S., and Japan are expanding development and humanitarian assistance cooperation worldwide through biennial high-level policy dialogues. Together, the three countries have increased development assistance to the Philippines and Ukraine. We seek to further enhance cooperation in key sectors across the Philippines, including port modernization, energy infrastructure, agricultural management, and major transportation projects. We support trilateral digital infrastructure and telecommunications projects in Southeast Asia, including expanding digital infrastructure using Open RAN approaches in the region.

People-to-people exchanges among Korea, the U.S., and Japan are rapidly expanding, and we are discussing ways to maintain and develop this momentum. We evaluate the successful hosting of the first 'Korea-U.S.-Japan Global Leadership Youth Summit' this year and look forward to the '2025 Youth Summit' to be held in Japan, which is expected to be the next annual gathering of youth representatives focused on shared challenges in security, economy, and environment. Furthermore, we support the newly launched 'Youth Korea-U.S.-Japan Leaders Program' to promote trilateral dialogue on global challenges and concrete actions by youth.

Our cooperation has been elevated to a new level across various sectors of our three governments, and we have created a brighter, safer, and more prosperous future for our peoples. We take pride in the partnership we have built and believe that Korea-U.S.-Japan relations will serve as a balancing mechanism for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region in the years ahead.