Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun, who is visiting New York to attend the High-Level Week of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held an ROK-U.S.-Japan Foreign Ministers’ meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Iwaya Takeshi on September 22 (Mon.). The Ministers and the Secretary discussed issues concerning the Korean Peninsula and the region as well as ways to enhance trilateral cooperation on economic security, and adopted a joint statement following the meeting.

Minister Cho stated that he found it meaningful that the first ROK-U.S.-Japan Foreign Ministers’ meeting since his taking office came at a time when the three countries’ commitment to trilateral cooperation is stronger than ever as demonstrated by the four ROK-U.S.-Japan ministerial-level meetings so far this year. He assessed that the trilateral framework serves as a useful platform for promoting policy coordination across a wide range of areas, including regional issues and economic security cooperation. Secretary Rubio and Minister Iwaya welcomed Minister Cho’s participation in the meeting and agreed to continue to strengthen ROK-U.S.-Japan cooperation for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

The Ministers and the Secretary reviewed the progress achieved thus far in trilateral cooperation in areas such as security and cyber response, agreed to maintain close coordination on North Korea policy while upholding the principle of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a deterrence posture against North Korea. Minister Cho proposed that the three countries actively work together to resume dialogue with North Korea and to make substantive progress toward peace on the Korean Peninsula and toward the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue.

The Ministers and the Secretary exchanged views on ways to deepen trilateral cooperation in the fields of economic security and advanced technologies. Minister Cho reaffirmed Korea’s willingness to cooperate with the United States as an optimal partner for the latter’s high-tech and manufacturing renaissance. On that note, he emphasized that in order to facilitate such cooperation, it is essential to take measures to prevent the recurrence of the Georgia incident and ensure smooth people-to-people exchanges — measures including institutional improvements and the introduction of a new visa system. In this regard, he requested special attention and action of the U.S. side. Secretary Rubio responded that, while the issue was a bilateral one rather than trilateral, the United States would continue to work closely with the ROK for an early resolution of the matter, taking into account the friendly alliance between the two countries.

The Ministers and the Secretary expressed their expectation for a continued expansion of substantive cooperation in areas such as quantum technology, nuclear energy, artificial intelligence and supply chains, and agreed to make an active use of the ROK-U.S.-Japan Trilateral Secretariat to ensure continued, action-oriented and visible progress, and concurred to regularly review such progress at the ministerial level.

Attachment:  Joint Statement of ROK-U.S.-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting