First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yoonjoo (right) on July 11 takes a group photo with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (center) and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya before their trilateral talks at Kuala Lumpur Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

By Yoo Yeon Gyeong

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 14 said it recently agreed with the U.S. and Japan to maintain a strong deterrence against North Korea via close trilateral cooperation and expanded security collaboration.

The ministry said that at a foreign ministers' summit on July 11 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the three sides reaffirmed their joint goal of the complete denuclearization of the North.

They also discussed the state of the Indo-Pacific region and agreed to work to maintain peace and stability there. They pledged to boost cooperation in energy and shipbuilding and reinforce ties in supply chain stability for key minerals as well as in core and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Held on the occasion of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the trilateral talks were attended by First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yoonjoo, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya.

"Holding the first trilateral foreign ministers' meeting with the U.S. and Japan since President Lee (Jae Myung)'s inauguration reflects our government's intent to continuously develop three-way cooperation based on pragmatic diplomatic policy centered on national interests," Vice Minister Park said.

"We hope to boost solidarity among the three countries and yield palpable and practical accomplishments."

dusrud21@korea.kr