Japanese Foreign Ministry: "We want to develop Korea-US-Japan cooperation, including at the summit level"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed on the 12th (local time) his intention to develop trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan, including at the summit level.

After the trilateral foreign ministers' meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hayashi told a press conference that "cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan is necessary not only to respond to North Korea but also for regional stability and peace," according to Japan's NHK broadcast.

At the meeting, the three ministers confirmed the need for close cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan on international issues such as North Korea and the Indo-Pacific region. They discussed a joint response to North Korea, which has launched ballistic missiles consecutively, and also consulted on the situations in Ukraine and Myanmar, maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, the climate crisis, and ending COVID-19.

The Sankei Shimbun reported that Foreign Minister Hayashi said regarding North Korea, "We shared serious concerns about North Korea," and "We exchanged very substantive opinions centered on responding to North Korea and confirmed that South Korea, the United States, and Japan will cooperate further." He also requested understanding and cooperation from South Korea and the United States on resolving the issue of Japanese abductees by North Korea, and stated that he received support from Minister Chung and Secretary Blinken.

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