Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun held a trilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Motegi Toshimitsu on Wednesday, July 22, on the sidelines of the 2026 ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings in Manila, the Philippines. The Ministers and the Secretary discussed regional and global developments, economic security, and issues related to the Korean Peninsula.

Minister Cho noted that the convening of the ROK–U.S.–Japan foreign ministers’ meeting only two weeks after the first such meeting of the year held on the sidelines of the NATO Summit on July 7 clearly demonstrates the importance that the three countries place on trilateral cooperation. He added that the meeting was all the more meaningful as it was held on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings which bring together key regional countries, and thus provided an opportunity to send a unified message on their commitment to strengthening trilateral cooperation. Secretary Rubio and Minister Motegi also welcomed the convening of this year’s second trilateral meeting merely two weeks after the first and expressed their commitment to further deepening cooperation and coordination among the three countries.

The Ministers and the Secretary shared their assessments on recent developments on the Korean Peninsula and reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining a robust deterrence posture against the DPRK while upholding the principle of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. They agreed to maintain close coordination on policies toward the DRPK and to continue communication and cooperation to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy.

The Ministers and the Secretary exchanged views on recent regional and global developments, including those in Northeast Asia and the Middle East. They reaffirmed the importance of further strengthening strategic communication and policy coordination among the three countries amid the growing uncertainty in the international environment. The Ministers and the Secretary also exchanged views on the regional security situation, including attempts to unilaterally change the status quo. They reaffirmed their commitment to upholding international law as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) including freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea in the Indo-Pacific, including Southeast Asia, and the strengthening maritime security. They agreed to continue exploring ways to contribute to regional and global peace and stability. In this context, they welcomed the ongoing expansion of trilateral cooperation into areas such as combating transnational crimes and strengthening disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, and agreed to actively hold discussions on ways to deliver tangible outcomes.

The Ministers and the Secretary reviewed major developments in the area of economic security and exchanged views on key risk factors and ways to enhance policy coordination. Emphasizing that cooperation among trusted partners is more important than ever amid the continued volatility in the global economy, they agreed to deepen substantive cooperation by building on the progress the three countries have achieved and their respective strengths in areas such as nuclear energy, critical minerals, and critical and emerging technologies. In particular, they agreed to expand cooperation in areas such as protecting advanced technologies to secure future growth engines; nuclear energy; diversifying and building resilient supply chains; addressing economic coercion; and Arctic security, and to continue follow-up consultations in these areas.

Building on the momentum of trilateral cooperation strengthened by today’s meeting, the Ministers and the Secretary agreed to actively pursue consultations across various fields at all levels and to work together to deliver outcomes that benefit the peoples of the three countries. They reaffirmed their commitment to meeting as frequently as possible for further consultations, including on the sidelines of multilateral meetings.