U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met today with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Atlanta to review progress in the trilateral partnership that promotes security and prosperity in a free and open Indo-Pacific region. The Secretary of State and the Minister of Foreign Affairs signed the Trilateral Arctic Pacific Partnership (TAPP) Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) to explore maritime cooperation and economic partnerships in the Arctic Pacific region.
The Secretary of State and the Minister of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed their strong commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCR), including the prohibition of revenue generation from support of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. They commended the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) for its work in exposing North Korea’s violations and evasion of UN Security Council resolutions. They also emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Secretary Rubio also raised issues such as China’s control of the South China Sea, coercive behavior in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea, and Russia-China cooperation that undermines peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Secretary of State and the Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized the importance of economic security and reiterated their shared opposition to economic coercion and the weaponization of supply chains. They reviewed the implementation of the trilateral cooperation memorandum on small modular reactor deployment signed in Ankara on July 7 and leveraging our comprehensive industrial advantages to promote global energy security. They also discussed the areas of economic and security cooperation identified at the trilateral economic and security consultations held in Seoul on October 15.
The Secretary of State and the Foreign Minister reaffirmed the commitments reflected in the United States, Japan and South Korea trilateral joint statement issued on September 21, 2026, and committed to continuing to hold trilateral meetings at all levels.