Japan, U.S., S. Korea to Seek Denuclearization of N. Korea

New York, Sept. 22 (Jiji Press)--The foreign chiefs of Japan, the United States and South Korea said in a joint statement Monday that their countries will seek to denuclearize North Korea.

They also stressed their opposition to any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific region, apparently having in mind China's increasing hegemonic moves.

Japan's Takeshi Iwaya and his U.S. and South Korean counterparts, Marco Rubio and Cho Hyun, issued the statement after holding a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly session in New York.

According to the statement, the three officials "reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization" of North Korea while "continuing to make efforts to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy."

The top Japanese, U.S. and South Korean diplomats expressed "serious concerns" over North Korea's "increasing military cooperation with Russia," as well as "malicious cyber activities by North Korean cyber actors and IT (information and technology) workers."

Meanwhile, they "strongly opposed unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea, as well as attempts to enforce such claims," though they avoided naming China. They also voiced "concern about increasingly frequent destabilizing actions around Taiwan."

The U.S. side "reaffirmed its extended deterrence commitments" to Japan and South Korea.

The foreign chiefs "asserted the importance of strengthening energy security, underpinned by America's liquid natural gas and other energy sources and technologies."

The joint statement also mentioned cooperation on supply chains and artificial intelligence.

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