On February 12, 2022, the Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS) hosted the Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of Foreign Affairs Chung Eui-yon for a trilateral ministerial meeting. In a joint statement, the Secretary and ministerial leaders reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to strong trilateral cooperation and promised to address the most pressing challenges of the 21st century.

Following North Korea’s extensive testing of its long-range ballistic missiles last month, the ministerial leaders committed to “complete de-nuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean peninsula.” The Secretary and Foreign Ministers emphasized that they held no hostile intent towards the DPRK and underscored continued openness to meeting the DPRK without preconditions. The participants also discussed the Russian build-up of its military forces along Ukraine’s borders and expressed their “unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The ROK and Japan Foreign Ministers welcomed the United States’ newly released Indo-Pacific Strategy expressing their support for a free and open Indo-Pacific. Finally, they pledged to continue regular trilateral ministerial consultations.

For Secretary of State Blinken, it was his second visit to the Center after having participated in a previous U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral meeting that took place at DKI APCSS in 2016.