DEPUTY SECRETARY SHERMAN: Good afternoon, Vice Minister Mori, First Vice Minister Cho. It is a private to host you for our first trilateral dialogue of 2023 and our fifth under the Biden‑Harris administration.
Before diving into what we discussed this morning, I want to speak to the ongoing human and humanitarian disaster that continues to unfold in the aftermath of the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria and the gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, unfathomable destruction left in its wake. The death toll rises seemingly by the hour. Homes are decimated, transportation is unusable, recovery efforts are ongoing, and the road ahead to rebuilding houses, businesses, cities, and the economy will be slow, winding, and long.
In this moment the United States has joined our friends from the ROK, Japan, and around the world in sending search and rescue teams, specialized equipment, air support, tents, sanitation facilities, and anything we can to help. We stand in solemn solidarity with the people of both nations, and together with our partners we are committed to providing the aid necessary to those impacted by this horrific natural earthquake devastation.
Now, to the subject of today's dialogue, a more optimistic story: the growth of our trilateral bonds. We are coming off a truly remarkable year in this partnership, one that featured two leader summits, regular communication, and the first trilateral defense exercises since 2017. Today's dialogue built on that progress. Our trilateral relationship remains strong and it is only getting stronger. Our alliances are ironclad, and our bonds of friendship are critical to enhancing the security and prosperity of our citizens, the Indo-Pacific, and the world.
Our cooperation touches some of the globe's most urgent challenges. These issues stood front and center in today's discussions. Together, we are advancing our shared affirmative vision for an Indo-Pacific that is free, open, connected, prosperous, resilient, and secure. This region is home to half the world's population and two-thirds of its economy. It is dynamic and growing. It is a leading priority for us all.
One year ago the United States unveiled our Indo-Pacific Strategy, and in conjunction with the ROK, Japan, and regional partners, we are putting that plan into practice. We are collaborating with Indo-Pacific countries on food security, energy affordability, humanitarian aid, and more. We are deepening our coordination with ASEAN to tackle major challenges such as pandemic preparedness, digital connectivity, and climate, and we are using multilateral exercises to promote stability across the region.
Throughout our meetings, our three governments reinforced the necessity of addressing the DPRK's destabilizing behavior and achieving complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The DPRK continued to threaten the ROK, Japan, and its neighbors, and the world with the launch of an unprecedented number of ballistic missiles last year. Standing united, our nations will deter the DPRK and urge it to give up its nuclear weapons program and abide by its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions. We call for full implementation by the international community and encourage the DPRK to return to dialogue.
Our talks also touched on the challenges posed by the People's Republic of China and the need to answer them with unity at home and abroad. Today's dialogue reiterated our core message. We will remain aligned with the ROK, Japan, other allies and partners worldwide to push back on the PRC behavior that challenges the rules-based regional and international order. We will continue to counter the PRC's destabilizing activities in South and East China Seas. We will keep working for maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Alongside the ROK and Japan, we will find areas where collaboration with the PRC is possible and in fact vital to international security, from climate and global health to narcotics, nonproliferation, and beyond.
Moving outside our immediate region and this region that we were discussing in the Indo‑Pacific, our discussions included Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine and the ROK and Japan's steadfast support, assistance, and cooperation in seeking to end the suffering endured by the Ukrainian people. Our countries' actions alongside partners across the globe are an unmistakable sign that we will stand firm against any attempts by any nation to change international borders by force. We will hold Russia accountable. We will stay united in defense of Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and fundamental rights.
Finally, our dialogue covered a wide range of issues that speak to the broad scope of our partnership. On security, the United States is firmly committed to the defense of the ROK and Japan; to enhancing our cooperation with partners like Australia, India, and New Zealand; to deepening ties between Indo-Pacific nations and NATO. On the broader region, we are engaged with ASEAN on law enforcement, transboundary challenges in the Mekong Subregion, renewable energy and health. We had productive discussions about supporting Pacific Island countries as they deal with climate change mitigation and adaptation. We are also coordinating with Japan and the ROK as partners in the Blue Pacific to tackle climate change; illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing; equitable access to infrastructure investment; and defense of the rules-based order.
On human rights, our three countries are focused on promoting gender equity across the Indo-Pacific, responding to gender-based violence, increasing women's economic participation and entrepreneurship. As APEC host this year, we look forward to broadening this work with Japan and the ROK and others to bolster the international economic system and showcase the centrality of the APEC region to resilient, inclusive, broadly shared prosperity.
So you can see by my long opening statement we covered a lot of ground today, yet there's still so much to do to uphold our interests, values, and vision which we all share. Together, I know we will.
Thank you.
VICE MINISTER MORI: Well, it was my great pleasure to have this Japan-U.S.-ROK Vice Ministers meeting with Deputy Secretary of State Sherman and First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho. For the first time in four months, I would like to thank Wendy and her staff for their warm hospitality.
A free and open international order based on the rule of law is being seriously challenged, to begin with Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which will mark one year on the 24th next week. At the same time, the security environment surrounding Japan has become increasingly severe. Against these backdrops, coordination among Japan, the U.S., and the ROK is becoming increasingly important, not only in dealing with North Korea but also in maintaining peace and stability of the region and in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Our leaders reaffirmed at the trilateral summit last November in Cambodia the importance of forging still closer trilateral coordination in the security field and beyond. Based upon our leaders' commitment, three of us had a frank and strategic discussion today and renewed our resolve to further deepen our coordination. On North Korea, we share the recognition that North Korea's intensified nuclear and missile activities, including ballistic missile launches with an unprecedented frequency and in unprecedented manners, pose a clear and serious challenge to the international community.
While North Korea has publicly stated its intention to further enhance its nuclear and missile programs this year, concerted efforts of the international community are critical. Under these circumstances, we concurred on continuing close collaboration among our three countries in enhancing regional security deterrence, cooperation at the UN - including the Security Council, where Japan is now sitting as a nonpermanent member - and diplomatic engagement towards the complete denuclearization of North Korea.
Regarding the abductions issue, I asked for continued understanding and cooperation of this issue and gained full support, again, from both U.S. and the ROK. I would like to once again thank both of you for your support.
On Ukraine, we shared our strong concern about the Russian missile and drone attacks that have resulted in civilian casualties as well as serious damage to the civil infrastructure. In particular, Japan is seriously considered about the threat of nuclear weapons by Russia. We concurred that Russia's - such threat is absolutely unacceptable and Russia should never use nuclear weapons under any circumstances. We also concurred that it is important to continue to strongly support Ukraine and to keep imposing severe sanctions against Russia. Such a situation in Ukraine will be one of the most important issues at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, which Japan will be hosting in May.
We also had a discussion on regional situation, including in the East and South China Seas, and shared the recognition that we must not accept any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force. We also shared the view that it is important to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Furthermore, we discussed a wide range of challenges that the international community is facing, such as economic security. We agreed to further deepen our trilateral cooperation in these areas.
Based on today's discussion, I look forward to continuing multilayered coordination among our three countries.
And lastly, I would also like to express my deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the massive earthquake that occurred in Türkiye and Syria, and emphasize our determination to provide necessary support to the affected areas. Japan is a country which has suffered from a number of natural disasters, including the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. It's doing its utmost to provide as much support as possible to those people who were affected by this earthquake.
So far we have dispatched urban search and rescue team and medical team to Türkiye and also provided Türkiye and Syria with emergency relief goods. I appreciate that the U.S. and the ROK are providing support as well.
Thank you for attention.
VICE MINISTER CHO: Thank you. Good afternoon. It is a great pleasure to meet Deputy Secretary Sherman and Vice Minister Mori here in Washington, D.C. I'd like to express my gratitude to Deputy Secretary Sherman and her team for arranging today's meeting.
Before my remarks on trilateral cooperation, I would first like to extend my deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathy to all the affected by the devastating earthquake in both Türkiye and Syria. All three of our government promptly dispatched teams to support rescue and recovery efforts and assist the victims of the earthquake, on top of the financial contribution we pledged individually. We sincerely hope for a swift recovery from the aftermath of this tragedy.
Over the past year, our three countries have strengthened our trilateral partnership to an unprecedented level, firmly rooted in shared values, including freedom, democracy, human rights, and rule of law. Exactly three months ago, our leaders jointly announced the Phnom Penh Statement on Trilateral Partnership for the Indo-Pacific, which reaffirmed our commitment to trilateral partnership and broadened the reach of our trilateral cooperation to new terrain.
Today, Deputy Secretary Sherman, Vice Minister Mori, and I explored ways to translate our leaders' firm resolve into concrete outcomes.
First of all, we committed ourselves to respond firmly to any North Korean provocation and work toward complete denuclearization of North Korea. Indeed, peace without denuclearization is fake peace. North Korea has launched a record number of missiles last year, and is yet threatening further ICBM and military satellite launches.
In response to this threat, we will strengthen robust ROK-U.S. combined defense posture, and at the same time enhance our trilateral security cooperation with U.S. and Japan.
We will cut off the revenue supporting North Korea's WMD development. Last Friday, the Korean Government introduced our first autonomous sanction on North Korea's illicit cyber activities, which is one of its major revenue generators. We will closely cooperate with the international community for full implementation of the UN sanctions.
We reiterated that we are open to dialogue. We urge North Korea to return to denuclearization talks. We also expressed deep concern over the human rights situation in North Korea, and committed to stepping up effort to raise international awareness on this critical issue.
We also underscored our joint commitment to promoting peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. I appreciate that Deputy Secretary Sherman and Vice Minister Mori welcomed the announcement of our Indo-Pacific Strategy. We agreed to seek more concrete and tangible outcomes of our partnership based on the common aspect of our policies in the Indo-Pacific.
In this vein, we concurred on the importance of deepening our trilateral coordination on development policy. We will coordinate closely with ASEAN partners on a wide range of regional agenda, including climate change, digital connectivity, and public health. We also committed to further enhancing cooperation for the development of the Mekong region and the Pacific Islands.
Last but not least, our three countries will closely collaborate on responding to various challenges to the security of the region and the international community. The infringement of other countries' territorial sovereignty can never be tolerated, against which necessary measures can be taken in accordance with international law.
We stand together as allies and partners. We strongly condemn Russia's ongoing attacks, which are killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. We reiterated that it is crucial for the international community to keep a united stance and stand firmly with Ukraine.
We committed ourselves to continued provision of assistance to Ukraine so that peace and stability can be restored as soon as possible. In addition, we agreed on the urgent need to address economic security challenges, supply chain disruptions, and energy crisis. We reaffirm our shared commitment to strengthening strategic consultation amongst three countries, including the dialogue on economic security that our leaders announced in Phnom Penh last November.
We also closely collaborate in international organizations, including the United Nations, to bolster the commitment of the international community to addressing global issues. Today's meeting were a true testament to our ever-growing partnership for the peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific, and beyond. I hope to maintain close communication with both of you, Deputy Secretary Sherman and Vice Minister Mori, and look forward to seeing you again in Korea for our next meeting. Thank you.
