Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting in New York: Discussions on 'End-of-War Declaration, North Korean Nuclear Issue'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, and Japan held a trilateral meeting in New York, USA, to discuss issues on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea's denuclearization and a declaration to formally end the Korean War.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 22nd (local time), the meeting took place at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel in New York, attended by Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong of South Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu.

This was the first time in over four months that the foreign ministers of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan gathered since their meeting at the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' Meeting held in early May in London, United Kingdom.

The trilateral meeting, which began around 5:45 p.m., ended at approximately 6:39 p.m. after nearly an hour, but Foreign Minister Chung and Secretary Blinken immediately continued with a bilateral meeting for more than 20 minutes.

As he left the meeting room, Foreign Minister Chung told reporters, "We talked about the Korean Peninsula, as well as joint responses to climate change and COVID-19."

When asked whether there was any discussion regarding President Moon Jae-in's proposal for a declaration to formally end the Korean War, presented in his speech at the UN General Assembly the previous day, and North Korea's recent nuclear and missile activities, he replied, "Of course."

At the UN General Assembly, U.S. President Joe Biden declared his commitment to pursuing serious diplomacy for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, suggesting that discussions on North Korean nuclear diplomacy likely took place among the three foreign ministers.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, also attended the trilateral meeting, and it is believed that conversations regarding humanitarian aid to North Korea were exchanged.

Earlier, a senior U.S. State Department official stated in a briefing that "the foreign ministers of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan will emphasize their commitment to promoting and safeguarding peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as the international scope of trilateral cooperation based on shared values," adding, "Given North Korea's missile tests last week, the trilateral meeting is timely."

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Chung announced that on the 23rd in New York, he plans to hold a separate South Korea-Japan foreign ministers' meeting with Foreign Minister Motegi.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.