Blinken says trilateral cooperation with South Korea, Japan remains 'vital' regardless of political transitions

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Blinken says trilateral cooperation with South Korea, Japan remains 'vital' regardless of political transitions

Published: 24 Sep. 2024, 11:13 Updated: 24 Sep. 2024, 11:51

From right, Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa meet in New York on Monday. [AP/YONHAP]

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan will remain "vital" to the future of the three countries regardless of political transitions in Washington and Tokyo.

Blinken made the remarks as he, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met trilaterally on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York in a show of their commitment to the three-way partnership in the face of shared challenges, including evolving North Korean threats.

"We have political transitions in Japan and the United States, but this trilat, irrespective of those transitions, will remain vital to the future of all three of our countries — a future that we are working to shape together," he said, according to a transcript released by the State Department.

He cast the trilateral relationship as one of the "hallmarks" of President Joe Biden's administration, saying that it is "stronger," "more effective" and "more important" than it has ever been given the challenges and opportunities that the three countries face.

The meeting took place as Seoul, Washington and Tokyo have been deepening their collaboration to counter threats from North Korea, which has heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula with its recent disclosure of a uranium enrichment facility, continued weapons tests and launches of trash-filled balloons into the South.

The three sides expressed concerns over the North's unveiling of the uranium enrichment facility and its expanding illegal military cooperation with Russia, the foreign ministry in Seoul said in a press release Tuesday.

"They agreed to continue close coordination to lead efforts to implement UN Security Council resolutions, while responding sternly to any provocations from Pyongyang," the ministry said.

Cho said that the trilateral gathering demonstrated their common resolve to cooperate "closely" and respond "steadfastly" to any provocation by the North, and that it was a testament to the three officials' commitment to trilateral cooperation — "unwavering" in the midst of political events afoot.

"Since the historic Camp David summit in August last year, we have made tremendous achievements in our trilateral cooperation, and I think at all levels and in many ... areas," Cho said.

He was referring to the first stand-alone trilateral summit at Camp David in Maryland in August last year. It produced a series of landmark agreements, including the "Commitment to Consult" in the event of a shared threat.

Kamikawa also underscored the importance of trilateral security cooperation in the face of multiple regional and global security challenges.

"The security environment surrounding us is becoming increasingly severe, and the free and open international order based on the rule of law is facing serious challenges, and that is making our strategic collaboration more important than ever," she said.

"We would like to further strengthen our coordination in dealing with North Korea and in a wide range of fields."

Three-way cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo gained traction after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol decided in March last year to address the issue of compensating Korean victims of Japan's colonial-era forced labor.

On the back of warming ties between Seoul and Tokyo, the three countries have bolstered security cooperation through joint exercises, the sharing of ballistic missile warning data and other efforts.

Monday's in-person meeting was the three top diplomats' first one since their last talks during the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Brazil in February.

Yonhap