US-Japan 2+2 Talks "Concerns Over North Korea's Nuclear and Missile Programs... UN Security Council Resolutions Must Be Implemented"

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken (top right) and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (below) are holding a video conference on the 6th (local time) in Washington DC with Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (top left) and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi (top center) for the foreign and defense ministers (2+2) meeting.
Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] On the 7th (Korean time), the United States and Japan expressed strong concerns over North Korea's nuclear and missile activities and reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during the foreign and defense ministers (2+2) meeting.

After concluding the video conference held that morning, the two countries issued a joint statement saying, "The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and urged North Korea to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions."

The meeting was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi.

In the joint statement, the ministers expressed "strong concerns over North Korea's advanced nuclear and missile development activities and confirmed the urgent need to resolve the abduction issue." They also stated, "We are committed to deepening trilateral or bilateral cooperation among the United States, Japan, and South Korea for shared security, peace, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond."

The U.S.-Japan 2+2 meeting was held for the first time in Japan since the inauguration of the Kishida Fumio administration and marked the first face-to-face meeting in 10 months since it was last held in Tokyo in March of last year.

According to Kyodo News, after the 2+2 meeting, the two countries signed an agreement on the cost-sharing for the U.S. military presence in Japan, which was finalized last month.

The U.S. and Japanese governments agreed that over five years starting from fiscal year 2022 (April 2022 to March 2023), Japan will bear a total of 1.0551 trillion yen (approximately 11 trillion won) in cost-sharing for the U.S. military presence in Japan. This represents a 7.7% increase compared to the total amount of 980.1 billion yen over the five years from fiscal years 2016 to 2020.

The two countries also signed an agreement to jointly develop defense equipment to counter the latest weapons, including hypersonic missiles being developed by North Korea and China.

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