South Korea, U.S., Japan diplomats reaffirm Korean Peninsula denuclearization goal

The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan met Tuesday on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara and reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. They agreed to continue efforts to pursue dialogue with North Korea and to maintain close coordination on policies addressing Pyongyang's activities, including illicit cyber operations, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

The ministers also exchanged views on regional and global developments, including the situation in the Middle East, and pledged to make necessary contributions to peace and stability.

Economic security cooperation The three countries agreed to strengthen practical cooperation in economic security and supply chain resilience. They welcomed the signing of a memorandum of cooperation to establish a framework for trilateral work on accelerating the deployment of small modular reactors in third countries, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.

The ministers noted existing cooperation in nuclear energy, artificial intelligence and quantum technology, and stressed the importance of coordinating responses to economic coercion. Tuesday's meeting was the first trilateral foreign ministers' talks since the three last met on the sidelines of an APEC summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, in October last year.

The ministers agreed to continue meeting and maintaining close communication as frequently as possible while working to deliver tangible results in various areas of trilateral cooperation, the ministry said.