The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan met in Manila on July 22 and reaffirmed their commitment to a robust deterrence posture against North Korea while pursuing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi held trilateral talks on the sidelines of ASEAN-related ministerial meetings. They shared assessments of recent developments on the Korean Peninsula and agreed to maintain close coordination on North Korea policy through dialogue and diplomacy.
The meeting followed their July 7 talks on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The ministers also agreed to deepen practical cooperation in economic security areas including nuclear energy, critical minerals and emerging technologies.
In a separate U.S. readout, officials noted a unified approach toward complete denuclearization, concern over China's intercontinental ballistic missile launch, and commitments on maritime security and transnational crime. North Korea appears to have skipped the ASEAN Regional Forum for a second consecutive year.
