South Korea, US, Japan Hold Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting, Vow to Maintain Strong Deterrence Against North Korea

On July 11, South Korea, the United States, and Japan held a trilateral foreign ministers' meeting on the sidelines of an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) related conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to discuss ways to enhance cooperation among the three countries.

First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yunju of South Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, as well as measures to boost economic cooperation among the three countries, during the meeting held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center that day.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the three countries reaffirmed their firm commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea during the meeting. They agreed to maintain strong deterrence against North Korea based on close trilateral coordination and to further expand security cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

Vice Minister Park explained South Korea's efforts to ease tensions and resume dialogue between the two Koreas and called for close cooperation with the U.S. and Japan in this regard.

The three countries also exchanged views on the regional situation and agreed to work together to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the energy and shipbuilding sectors. In addition, they decided to deepen cooperation in securing stable supply chains, including critical minerals, as well as in key and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).

South Korea, the United States, and Japan agreed to continue close communication at all levels and to actively work toward achieving concrete results in trilateral cooperation.

During the meeting, Vice Minister Park stated, "Holding the South Korea-U.S.-Japan foreign ministers' meeting as my first multilateral meeting since taking office demonstrates our government's commitment to continuously advancing trilateral cooperation under a pragmatic, national interest-oriented diplomatic policy."

He also emphasized the expectation that the three countries will further solidify their unity and achieve tangible and substantive outcomes in the future.

This trilateral foreign ministers' meeting marks the first since the one held on the sidelines of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) foreign ministers' meeting in April this year, and the first since the inauguration of the Lee Jaemyung administration.

As the appointment process for Cho Hyun, the nominee for Minister of Foreign Affairs, has not been completed, the vice minister attended the meeting on behalf of the minister, making it difficult to hold bilateral talks with the United States and Japan. The fact that this trilateral meeting was held under such circumstances is interpreted as a sign that the U.S. and Japan place high importance on trilateral cooperation.

Since Vice Minister Park is attending the ASEAN meeting on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the meeting is referred to as a trilateral foreign ministers' meeting.