Secretary Rubio’s Trilateral Meeting in Kuala Lumpur with Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya and Republic of Korea First Vice Foreign Minister Park

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce: 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met today with Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi and Republic of Korea First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo during the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings in Kuala Lumpur to further strengthen the indispensable trilateral partnership between the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.   

The three emphasized that trilateral cooperation remains critical to promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.  They also reaffirmed their resolute commitment to bolstering defense and deterrence and to the complete denuclearization of North Korea.  They discussed increasing resiliency by enhancing economic cooperation on shared economic opportunities, including energy, trusted digital infrastructure, and shipbuilding, and efforts to strengthen the security and resilience of critical technologies and supply chains. 

The Secretary, Foreign Minister, and Vice Foreign Minister welcomed the further institutionalization of trilateral collaboration as a platform to advance peace and security across the world.  They reiterated their pledge to continue trilateral meetings at all levels.