The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.
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Secretary of State of the United States of America Marco Rubio, Foreign Minister of Japan Iwaya Takeshi, and Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea Cho Hyun met on September 22 in New York City to continue their joint efforts to advance the safety, security, and prosperity of our three countries and the broader Indo-Pacific region, while upholding shared principles including the rule of law.
Strengthening Regional and Global Engagement
The United States reiterated its ironclad commitments to the defense of Japan and the ROK, backed by America's unmatched military strength, including its nuclear capabilities. The United States reaffirmed its extended deterrence commitments to Japan and the ROK, which are critically important to the security and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the broader Indo-Pacific region. The Secretary and Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their resolve to bolster defense and deterrence by advancing robust security cooperation, including through the regular conduct of the trilateral multi-domain exercise "Freedom Edge," and to strengthen their respective defense capabilities.
They welcomed trilateral coast guard cooperation, including the exchange of subject matter knowledge and experience to enhance maritime incident response between the three countries and the provision of capacity building support to ASEAN member states in May 2025. They committed to work under the Trilateral Maritime Security and Law Enforcement Cooperation Framework to address the multifaceted challenges in the maritime domain and provide joint capacity building assistance to partners in the region. The Secretary and Foreign Ministers strongly opposed unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea, as well as attempts to enforce such claims. They opposed any attempts to change the status quo including dangerous and destabilizing actions in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, including the South China Sea. They emphasized their commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and upholding international law as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, including freedoms of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea.
They emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and expressed concern about increasingly frequent destabilizing actions around Taiwan. The Secretary and Foreign Ministers encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues and opposed any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo. They also expressed support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in appropriate international organizations.
They reaffirmed their unwavering support for ASEAN centrality and unity and for the ASEAN-led regional architecture.
The Secretary and Foreign Ministers recognized the strategic importance of the Arctic region and committed to further their trilateral cooperation through close intergovernmental communication in this regard.
The Secretary and Foreign Ministers encouraged Russia and Ukraine's progress towards a durable negotiated settlement.
Addressing the North Korean Threat
The Secretary and Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs), while continuing to make efforts to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy. They emphasized the need to address together the DPRK's nuclear and missile programs and to maintain and strengthen the sanctions regime against the DPRK by responding firmly and in cooperation with other countries to violations and evasions of the relevant UNSCRs. They urged all UN Member States to abide by their international obligations under the relevant UNSCRs.
They expressed serious concerns over the DPRK's increasing military cooperation with Russia, including the implications of Russian support to the DPRK's military capabilities, particularly its long-range missiles. They urged Russia and North Korea to immediately cease all such activities and abide by the UN Charter and all relevant UNSCRs.
They expressed their serious concern with malicious cyber activities by North Korean cyber actors and IT workers. They welcomed the coordinated actions of the three countries and emphasized the need to deepen collaboration between the public and private sector as highlighted in the recent Joint Statement on North Korean IT Workers. They reaffirmed the importance of the continued efforts of the Trilateral Diplomatic Working Group on North Korean Cyber Threats.
The Secretary and Foreign Ministers reaffirmed the importance of close policy coordination on North Korea between the three countries and committed to strengthen trilateral consultations on North Korea at all levels.
The Secretary and Foreign Ministers also reiterated their commitment to the immediate resolution of the issues of abductees, detainees, and unrepatriated prisoners of war as well as the issue of separated families.
Enhancing Economic Security and Resilience
The Secretary and Foreign Ministers committed to advance trilateral cooperation on supply chain resilience, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotechnology, and other emerging technologies.
They asserted the importance of strengthening energy security, underpinned by America's liquid natural gas and other energy sources and technologies. For the sake of further diversifying critical mineral and other vital supply chains, they committed to enhance trilateral dialogue on critical minerals and work together in various regions such as Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa through further promoting active collaboration under the trilateral Early Warning System. In addition, they concurred in continuing their dialogue on economic security. To meet growing energy needs under the highest standards of nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation, the Secretary and Foreign Ministers committed to accelerate joint efforts to develop and deploy advanced civil nuclear reactors.
They welcomed the advancement of tangible cooperation on developing and protecting critical and emerging technologies, including the Trilateral Workshops on Quantum Industrial Security in September and the second Trilateral Technology Leaders Training Program in June. They also expressed their support to maintain research collaboration among the national laboratories of the three countries.
They welcomed the Young Trilateral Leaders program as a contributor to strengthened people-to-people ties and enhanced trilateral cooperation. Standing firmly against economic coercion and non-market policies and practices, including export restrictions that could lead to significant supply chain disruptions, they reaffirmed their commitment to a free and fair global economic order. They also expressed their support for the ROK's successful APEC 2025 host year and for meaningful outcomes at the APEC Economic Leader's Week later this fall.
Advancing Trilateral Cooperation
The Secretary and Foreign Ministers welcomed the active role of the Trilateral Coordinating Secretariat responsible for aligning the action-oriented objectives and coordinating and implementing tangible efforts. They committed to continue trilateral meetings at all levels.
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