Secretary Antony J. Blinken Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko and Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul Before Their Meeting

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, good afternoon, everyone.  Yoko, Tae-yul, welcome.  So good to be with you, with your teams.  Since the Camp David meeting in August with President Biden, President Yoon, and Prime Minister Kishida, our teams have been hard at work – hard at work on trying to realize the vision that our leaders put forward at Camp David.  And that is grounded in our trilateral cooperation.

And since that time, we’ve advanced key commitments, including finalizing our trilateral missile data-sharing mechanism and a long-term military exercise plan; holding the first trilateral Indo-Pacific Dialogue; strengthening development cooperation in the Indo-Pacific; and launching cutting-edge collaboration in key technologies, including quantum computing.

We’ve also upheld commitments to consult with each other, to do so expeditiously, and to coordinate responses when we have a shared security challenge.  With growing regional challenges, including the DPRK’s provocative actions and military cooperation with Russia, and increasingly assertive actions by the PRC, cooperation and coordination with our closest allies is more important than ever.

So I look forward to our discussions today – these urgent challenges – but also the many other areas where our three countries are working together in positive and productive ways for the benefit of people in all – in Korea, in Japan, and in the United States, but also the region and beyond.

So thank you all for being here.   And if I can, let me turn it over, Yoko, to you.

FOREIGN MINISTER KAMIKAWA:  Thank you very much.  It is my great pleasure to – I’m sorry.  It is my great pleasure to have the first trilateral meeting with Minister Cho here.  I welcome the deepened and expanded ties among our three countries, the advancement of our cooperation in various areas during the past six months since this historic summit at Camp David.

Looking at the global landscape, the free and open international order, based on the rule of law, is now being challenged.  It is already two years since Russia’s aggression against Ukraine started.  Our strategic coordination is more important than ever, and I am eager to work even more closely with both of you in dealing with North Korea and beyond.

Thank you very much.

FOREIGN MINISTER CHO:  Thank you, Tony.  I’m very delighted to be participating in my first trilateral meeting today.  It is my great pleasure for me to meet with you in person, Tony and Yoko, so this meeting is very meaningful in many ways.

First, it is the first trilateral meeting of the year.  The start of the year is always a fitting time to take stock of what we have accomplished together and discuss priorities for the months ahead.

Second, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the first-ever trilateral summit held in 1994.  This gathering therefore represents a symbolic milestone in our journey together.

Third, this is our first-ever trilateral foreign minister meeting to be held in South America.  I think it is emblematic of our global outreach and our commitment to meet whenever and wherever we can.

I look forward to fruitful and meaningful discussions, further strengthening our bilateral relationship.  Thank you.