WASHINGTON, South Korea, the United States and Japan condemned North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and pointed out China’s “unlawful” claims in the South China Sea during the inaugural meeting of their trilateral Indo-Pacific dialogue this week, a joint statement showed Saturday.

The three countries released the statement after the meeting took place in Washington on Friday, in line with an agreement on its launch that President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reached during their landmark Camp David summit in August last year.

The meeting was led by South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Byung-won and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Daniel Kritenbrink and Yasuhiro Kobe, respectively.

“They condemned the DPRK’s continued development of its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile programs, growing military cooperation with Russia, and grave human rights violations and abuses,” the statement read, referring to the North by its official name, th
e Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The three also recalled their positions regarding the “recent dangerous and escalatory behavior supporting unlawful maritime claims” by China in the South China Sea, it said.

“They strongly reiterated their firm commitment to international law, including the freedom of navigation and overflight, as reflected in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, and they opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion anywhere in the waters of the Indo-Pacific,” the statement said.

In addition, the representatives underscored their countries’ alignment on the Taiwan issue

“They reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as indispensable to security and prosperity in the international community,” it said.

Recognizing the increased threat posed by foreign information manipulation, the three sides discussed ways to effectively counter these threats while respecting freedom of expression.

The meeting focused on each
country’s Indo-Pacific approach and opportunities for cooperation, with an emphasis on partnership with Southeast Asian and Pacific Island countries, according to the statement.

“The trilateral Indo-Pacific Dialogue is a new chapter in our countries’ partnership and an important step forward to strengthen and more closely align our policies globally,” it said.

The representatives reaffirmed their intent to continue to convene the trilateral dialogue body annually.

Source: Yonhap News Agency