US and South Korea Foreign Ministers "Strengthen Efforts to Cut Off North Korea's Funding Sources"

Minister Cho Tae-yeol, First Korea-US Foreign Ministers' Meeting
Complete Korea-US Solidarity Response to North Korean Provocations

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol (second from right) is holding a foreign ministers' meeting with Secretary of State Tony Blinken (left) at the U.S. Department of State building in Washington on the 28th (local time). Secretary Blinken has decided to visit Seoul next month to discuss matters related to the Democracy Summit.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Cho Tae-yul, Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, who is visiting the United States, met with Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, and agreed to further strengthen efforts to cut off North Korea's funding sources amid its recent escalation of provocations.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 29th, Minister Cho held the first Korea-U.S. foreign ministers' meeting since his inauguration on the 28th (local time) at the U.S. Department of State with Secretary Blinken. The two ministers met again just six days after holding a Korea-U.S.-Japan foreign ministers' meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the 22nd during the G20 foreign ministers' meeting.

On this day, the two ministers evaluated that South Korea and the U.S. are responding in full solidarity against North Korea's provocations and threats that have continued since the beginning of the year, and agreed to actively cooperate to respond flawlessly to any provocations.

In particular, they agreed to strengthen efforts to cut off North Korea's funding sources through various illegal activities and to raise domestic and international awareness of abductees, detainees, prisoners of war, and defectors on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) report on North Korean human rights.

They also emphasized that Russia-North Korea military cooperation violates multiple United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and poses a serious threat to international peace and stability beyond the Korean Peninsula, agreeing to strengthen diplomatic cooperation to halt illegal military cooperation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "The two ministers assessed that the Korea-U.S. alliance is stronger than ever and maintains a flawless combined defense posture," adding, "They agreed to actively support efforts to accelerate consultations of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) under the Washington Declaration and to cooperate in strengthening extended deterrence capabilities."

The two ministers agreed to further strengthen high-level exchanges, including between heads of state, and strategic communication at all levels. They set a policy to steadily implement institutionalization of trilateral cooperation among Korea, the U.S., and Japan this year and follow-up measures by sector to ensure the fruits of trilateral cooperation expand.

Additionally, they discussed regional and global issues such as Ukraine and the Middle East. As members of the United Nations Security Council, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to strengthen cooperation and work together to uphold universal values such as freedom, democracy, and human rights.

In this regard, Minister Cho welcomed Secretary Blinken's participation in the 3rd Summit for Democracy and emphasized that cooperation with NATO and the Group of Seven (G7) will also be strengthened.

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