Fourth United States-Japan-Republic of Korea Trilateral Diplomatic Working Group Meeting on Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Cyber Activities

On August 27 and 28, the United States of America, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK) convened in Tokyo for the fourth meeting of the Trilateral Diplomatic Working Group to counter cyber threats posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).  Led by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Jonathan Fritz, Japanese Ambassador in charge of Cyber Policy Miyake Fumito, and ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Director General for International Security and Korean Peninsula Policy Baek Yoon Jeong, the group reviewed the substantial progress made in deepening trilateral collaboration to disrupt the DPRK’s ability to generate and launder revenue through malicious cyber activity, IT workers, and third-party facilitators, which it uses to fund its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs.  The working group included participants from 19 U.S., Japanese, and ROK government departments, ministries, and agencies.

Through the working group, the United States of America, Japan, and the ROK continue to coordinate on a wide range of trilateral actions, including efforts to restrict DPRK actors’ access to key jurisdictions in which they generate revenue and prevent private sector companies from being exploited by DPRK targeting.  The three sides also discussed future engagement with the AI industry, autonomous sanctions, and law enforcement cooperation.