Japan, US, South Korea affirm cooperation over China, North Korea
From left, South Korea’s foreign ministerCho Tae-yul pose for a photo with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japan’s foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya met on the sidelines of the NATO meeting in Brussels. Jiji Press
TOKYO, Japan — The foreign ministers of Japan, the United States and South Korea on Thursday affirmed their countries’ cooperation in dealing with China and North Korea.
In their meeting in Brussels, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul discussed China.
Beijing is repeating increasingly hegemonic moves in the East and South China seas.
The three countries’ officials also discussed ways to respond to North Korea, which is deepening its military cooperation with Russia.
The officials confirmed that their countries’ adherence to common values such as the rule of law and their united efforts to strengthen deterrence and response capabilities lead to peace and stability.
This is the second meeting among the foreign ministers of the three countries since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump in January and the first since their previous meeting in Munich, Germany, in February.
In Brussels, Japan, the United States and South Korea expressed serious concerns about North Korea’s nuclear and missile development programs.
They also agreed to advance discussions to realize trilateral cooperation in the economic security field.
The three officials are visiting Belgium to take part in a NATO meeting of foreign ministers.
