US, Japan, South Korea reaffirm commitment to North Korea denuclearization

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea on Monday during a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

According to a joint statement released by the US State Department, the officials "reaffirmed the U.S.-Japan-ROK joint statement of September 22, 2025, and underscored progress in trilateral cooperation that promotes peace, stability, and economic prosperity to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific, while upholding shared principles including the rule of law."

"They also reaffirmed that the path to dialogue remains open and called on the DPRK to resume dialogue," the statement noted.

They welcomed the work of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team on North Korean violations and evasions of UN Security Council resolutions, as well as an alert on North Korean IT workers issued by like-minded countries.

On economic security, the three countries vowed to oppose economic coercion and non-market practices, enhance a trilateral Supply Chain Early Warning System and launch a new trilateral consultation on economic security.

"They committed to a plan to implement the July 7 trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation to accelerate small modular reactor (SMR) deployments in other countries in a mutually beneficial manner and under the highest standards of nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation," the statement added.

The US reiterated its "ironclad commitments" to the defense of Japan and South Korea, including extended deterrence.

They emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, opposing any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo.

The officials also welcomed new trilateral cooperation with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to disrupt scam centers in Southeast Asia, and agreed to continue trilateral meetings at all levels.