The following text was released by the Governments of the United States of America, Japan, and the Republic of Korea on the occasion of the United States-Japan-Republic of Korea Trilateral Vice Foreign Minister-Level Dialogue.
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We, the Deputy Secretary of State of the United States, the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, and the 1st Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, met in the Washington area on May 31, 2024, to carry forward the Spirit of Camp David. Together we reaffirm the importance of trilateral cooperation in seizing the opportunities of today and addressing the most difficult challenges we face, as we look together to the future.
We reaffirm our commitment to use our collective capacity to strengthen security and maintain peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific region. Our shared ambitions and values will continue to guide our efforts and bind us to increase prosperity while protecting democracy and defending the rules-based international system.
Our trilateral partnership is essential to the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific and recognize the importance of opposing unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea. We committed to continuing our discussions on the development of the Trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation Framework to address the multifaceted challenges of the maritime domain, including maritime law enforcement based on the Letter of Intent signed by the coast guards of our three countries. We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community. There is no change in our basic positions on Taiwan, and we call for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.
We shared common concerns about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) increasingly destabilizing rhetoric and actions. We strongly condemned the DPRK's recent launches using ballistic missile technology, including a so-called "military reconnaissance satellite," which took place in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions. We reaffirmed our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and call on the DPRK to engage in substantive dialogue with us without preconditions. We committed to continue expanding our security cooperation to counter the DPRK threat and strengthen regional security. The Deputy Secretary reiterated that the U.S. commitments to the defense of Japan and the ROK are ironclad and backed by the full range of capabilities, including nuclear, and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to strengthen extended deterrence with Japan and the ROK. We are continuing close cooperation in exploring ways to ensure full implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, especially in light of Russia's veto of a resolution to renew the mandate of the UN Security Council's 1718 Committee Panel of Experts. We expressed grave concerns about the DPRK's human rights violations and abuses and are committed to the immediate resolution of the issues of abductees, detainees, and unrepatriated prisoners of war. We reaffirmed our commitment to continue working together to combat the DPRK's illicit revenue generation and malicious cyber activities. We further reaffirmed our support for a unified Korean Peninsula that is free and at peace.
We also shared our concerns about deepening cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, including arms transfers in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, which are fueling Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. We committed to coordinate even more closely to support Ukraine's energy infrastructure, recovery, and efforts to hold Russia accountable for its actions. Noting the increasing national security threat posed by foreign information manipulation by adversarial actors in the region and beyond, we committed to work together to address this challenge and build more resilient information environments.
In this year when all three of our nations serve on the Security Council, we committed to continue working in the Security Council, at the UN General Assembly, and in other multilateral fora to protect human rights, bolster democratic institutions, and promote the rule of law.
As three of the most dynamic economies in the world, it is imperative that we continue to invest in one another's prosperity by further deepening our already vibrant economic ties. To further these efforts, we committed to continue working closely to strengthen economic security and enhance supply chain resilience, including through joint support for Minerals Security Partnership projects. We also discussed progress made through the Trilateral Economic Security Dialogue and committed to accelerating cooperation on critical and emerging technologies and encourage relevant authorities to advance shared research projects. As a sign of our deepening economic and technological partnership, we noted the launch of a new quantum workforce program by IBM, in partnership with U.S., Korean, and Japanese universities, that will train 40,000 students over the next decade.
We also welcomed the upcoming launch of a Trilateral Technology Leaders Program hosted by Johns Hopkins SAIS, which will train mid-level policymakers from our three countries in critical policy areas including emerging technology governance, semiconductors and global supply chain issues, collaborative human-AI problem-solving, ethical biotech governance, quantum technology, cybersecurity challenges, and space.
Alongside our deep condolences for the loss of life and devastation caused by the landslide in Papua New Guinea, we committed to supporting rescue and recovery efforts to aid the people of Papua New Guinea. The United States, through USAID, committed to provide field-level support including last-mile humanitarian logistics and distribution of humanitarian assistance provided by the ROK and Japan. We will continue to coordinate our humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in Papua New Guinea, to assist affected communities.
We strongly support the themes of the Pacific Island Forum's (PIF) 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and reiterated our dedication to work closely with Pacific Island countries and the PIF as well as the Partners in the Blue Pacific to advance our shared objectives. We affirmed the importance of advancing secure and resilient communications infrastructure and committed to support digital connectivity in the Pacific Islands.
The strong political, economic, and defense ties between our three countries are anchored and sustained by people-to-people connections, including educational and professional exchanges and vibrant cross-cultural influences in sports, the arts, and entertainment. To further strengthen these bonds of friendship, we underscored our support for the U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateral Global Leadership Youth Summit, which will be held this summer in Busan. We look forward to subsequent youth summits in the following years and to establishing the program as a regular part of our public diplomacy initiatives. We also reaffirmed our commitment to advancing women's economic empowerment at home and abroad, including through participation in the 2024 Trilateral Conference on Women's Economic Empowerment to be held in Washington this summer.
Building on the tremendous progress made under the trilateral framework so far, we instructed our teams to expeditiously develop parameters for a trilateral coordinating mechanism to further institutionalize our cooperation.
At the conclusion of our dialogue, we committed to holding the next trilateral Vice Foreign Minister-Level Dialogue in the second half of this year in Seoul and look forward to the next Trilateral Leaders Meeting later this year.
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