Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

[At 19th Asia Security Summit]
ROK, US, and Japan hold defense ministerial talks

On June 11, 2022, Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop, United States (US) Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, and Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo held trilateral defense ministerial talks in Singapore.

During the meeting, the three ministers discussed the situation in North Korea, ways of strengthening trilateral security cooperation, and a joint response to the security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

The three ministers pledged that the ROK, the US, and Japan will work to closely cooperate on the joint effort to achieve complete denuclearization and the establishment of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. They also reaffirmed that it is important for the international community to fully implement the United Nations Security Council resolution.

The three ministers agreed to carry out the ROK-US-Japan combined missile warning exercise and ballistic missile search & tracking exercise, and to further strive to respond to North Korea’s ballistic missile launches by identifying available additional measures.

The three ministers discussed other pending security-related issues in the region, and shared the view that it is important to deepen trilateral cooperation,  including information sharing, high-level policy consultation, and joint training, on key issues to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The US reaffirmed its firm alliance commitment to the ROK and Japan through capabilities in all categories including nuclear issues. The ROK and Japan emphasized the importance of bilateral ties and trilateral cooperation to protect and advance the joint security goal. The three ministers also agreed to cooperate closely for peace and stability in the region and in the world.