1. Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul held a trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Iwaya Takeshi in Brussels on April 3 on the sidelines of the Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs. They discussed coordinated responses to threats from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), regional developments, and ways to advance economic cooperation.

2. The meeting took place again about six weeks after their previous talks in Munich on February 15. The Ministers and the Secretary agreed that this series of meetings reflects the three countries’ strong commitment to moving trilateral cooperation forward in a swift manner. In particular, Minister Cho noted that this first-ever trilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO Foreign Ministerial Meeting reflects the new U.S. administration’s strong commitment to continuing its robust engagement in the Indo-Pacific based on close collaboration with the Republic of Korea and Japan, in the current situation where security in Europe and that in the Indo-Pacific are closely interlinked.

3. Just prior to the meeting, regarding the recent wildfire damage in the ROK, Minister Cho expressed his appreciation for U.S. Forces Korea’s assistance in firefighting and the messages of condolence from the U.S. and Japan. He also conveyed his condolence over the damage caused by wildfires in Japan’s Ehime and Okayama regions.

4. The Ministers and the Secretary reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of the DPRK and agreed to continue close communication and coordination on a comprehensive range of DPRK-related issues including sanctions implementation, responses to its illicit cyber activities and military cooperation with Russia, and human rights, while maintaining strong deterrence against the DPRK and responding firmly to any of its provocations.

5. In addition, the Ministers and the Secretary exchanged views on the situation in the region including the South China Sea, shared the understanding on the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region, and committed to continued close coordination in this regard. Minister Cho asked the U.S. to coordinate closely with the ROK and Japan in the process of reviewing and implementing relevant policies.

6. The Ministers and the Secretary also reaffirmed that economic cooperation is an important pillar of trilateral cooperation and agreed to further strengthen coordination on economic security and supply chain resilience, particularly in the areas of energy, critical minerals and nuclear power. Meanwhile, Minister Cho expressed his deep concern over the U.S.’ reciprocal tariff measures announced on April 2 and requested that the U.S. consider the measures’ implications for allies, aspects of close ROK-U.S.-Japan security cooperation, the progress in economic cooperation and the ROK’s investment to date in the U.S.

7. The Ministers and the Secretary pledged to actively work toward tangible outcomes from ROK-U.S.-Japan cooperation.  To this end, they agreed to continue encouraging the convening of the trilateral vice-ministerial meeting and the role of the Trilateral Coordinating Secretariat.