Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink, Republic of Korea (ROK) Vice Foreign Minister for Strategy and Intelligence Cho Koo-rae, and Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Namazu Hiroyuki, held a trilateral phone call on August 6 to discuss current developments related to the DPRK.
The three officials discussed efforts to deepen trilateral security cooperation, bring global attention to the DPRK's malicious cyber activities, and call on the DPRK to return to dialogue rather than continue its reckless and dangerous actions that escalate tension on the Korean Peninsula. They discussed the DPRK's deepening relationship with Russia, including arms transfers, which help prolong Russia's war against Ukraine, undermine the global non-proliferation regime, violate UN Security Council resolutions, and upend regional stability. The officials called on the PRC to use its influence with the DPRK to halt the regime's destabilizing activity. Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink reiterated the United States' ironclad commitments to the defense of the ROK and Japan.
