First Trilateral Vice Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Since Inauguration
On July 18, South Korea, the United States, and Japan held a trilateral vice foreign ministers’ meeting and agreed to continue trilateral security cooperation based on their strong bilateral alliances.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yunju held the 15th South Korea-U.S.-Japan Vice Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Tokyo, Japan, with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Funakoshi Takehiro. They discussed issues related to the Korean Peninsula, economic, regional, and global cooperation, as well as ways to strengthen trilateral cooperation. This was the first meeting of the three vice ministers since they took office.
Vice Minister Park noted that this meeting was held just one week after the South Korea-U.S.-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last week. He also highlighted that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of the trilateral vice foreign ministers’ meeting, and that the momentum of trilateral cooperation has been continuously strengthening. He assessed that the scope of South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation has expanded beyond security to include a wide range of areas such as the economy, technology, and people-to-people exchanges.
At the meeting, the three vice ministers reaffirmed the importance of maintaining strong deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear threat through trilateral cooperation in the changing security environment. They agreed to continue South Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation based on robust bilateral alliances. Vice Minister Park explained South Korea’s efforts to ease tensions and resume dialogue on the Korean Peninsula. The three vice ministers also agreed to work closely together on diplomatic efforts to make progress on North Korea-related issues.
In addition, the three countries exchanged views on the regional situation and agreed to work together to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
The three vice ministers also noted that economic security is an area that the people of all three countries can directly feel. In particular, they agreed to further strengthen practical cooperation in key and emerging technology fields such as critical minerals, supply chains, and artificial intelligence (AI).
The three vice ministers evaluated that the three countries have achieved meaningful results in various areas by expanding the window of joint opportunities. They emphasized that progress in institutionalization, such as the launch of the trilateral secretariat, plays an important role in driving continued trilateral cooperation. They agreed to further solidify South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation through regular consultations at all levels and active operation of the secretariat.
Meanwhile, Vice Minister Park also held a bilateral vice foreign ministers’ meeting with Vice Minister Funakoshi on the sidelines of the trilateral meeting. Park emphasized that, as confirmed in the recent phone call and summit between the leaders of South Korea and Japan, he will work to build a mature South Korea-Japan relationship based on mutual respect and trust through his first visit to Japan and talks since taking office.
In the afternoon, Vice Minister Park and Deputy Secretary Landau jointly paid a courtesy call on Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and exchanged views on the importance of trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
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