WASHINGTON -- National security advisors from Japan, the United States and South Korea held talks in Maryland on Friday and issued a joint press statement reaffirming their commitment to closely working together for the denuclearization of North Korea.
Shigeru Kitamura, secretary general of the National Security Secretariat; Jake Sullivan, U.S. national security advisor; and Suh Hoon, director of South Korea's National Security Office, met at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland. During the meeting, they also exchanged views on common concerns over security in the Indo-Pacific region, with China's increased maritime presence in the South and East China seas in mind.
This is the first time the high-level security officials have held a multilateral face-to-face meeting since U.S. President Joe Biden took office.
At the meeting, the main focus was on final coordination regarding a review of U.S. policy on North Korea that Washington is currently working on. When the U.S. secretaries of state and defense visited Japan and South Korea in March, differences between Tokyo and Seoul came to light regarding their policies on North Korea and China. In light of this, the three countries are believed to have coordinated their policies carefully in Friday's security talks.
In the joint statement, the national security advisors avoided mentioning China by name, but stated that they "reaffirmed their steadfast commitment to working together to protect and advance their shared security goals."
The statement also referred to cooperation in resolving the issue of Pyongyang's abductions of Japanese citizens.
As the statement said that "Japan and the ROK underscored the importance of their bilateral ties and trilateral cooperation," it appears that the United States urged its Asian allies to improve their relationship.
Sullivan also said the United States intends to fulfill its firm commitments to Japan and South Korea as their ally. This remark was made apparently with the understanding that Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, which stipulates the U.S. obligation to defend Japan, applies to the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
The security advisors also exchanged views on measures against the novel coronavirus, climate change and the suppression of demonstrators by the Myanmar military.
Additionally, Kitamura and Sullivan held separate talks on Friday and discussed policy toward China, economic security and other issues. In preparation for the Japan-U.S. summit scheduled for April 16, they appear to have coordinated on matters such as building supply chains that are not dependent on China.
Kitamura also met with Suh separately for talks in which they discussed North Korea and other issues.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
