The United States, Japan and South Korea have pledged “combined trilateral cooperation” for the denuclearization of North Korea.
Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to President Joe Biden, had a rare personal meeting with his colleagues from South Korea and Japan, Suh Hoon and Shigeru Kitamura, at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
They said in a joint statement that they “shared their concerns about North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs” and “agreed on the imperative for the full implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions by the international community, including Korea. North, avoiding proliferation and cooperating to strengthen deterrence and maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. ”
Addressing other important priorities for Biden, security officials also discussed the struggles against Covid-19 and climate change, and ways to restore democracy in Myanmar.
The meeting came as a review by the Biden government on how to deal with North Korea was in its final stages, after Donald Trump’s unusually personal diplomacy with strongman Kim Jong-un.
The former president held three meetings with Kim, with whom Trump said he “fell in love”, in a diplomatic opening that eased tensions, but did not lead to a permanent agreement.
Biden sharply criticized Trump’s meetings, saying he legitimized one of the world’s most ruthless leaders, but also said he was open to diplomacy.
Biden government officials are expected to support the resumption of lower-level negotiations, rather than high-risk and dramatic summits.
Biden also warned North Korea of the consequences of violations of UN security council resolutions, after Pyongyang recently tested what American officials thought were ballistic missiles.
A U.S. official said Sullivan was also talking to Japan and South Korea about the global semiconductor shortages, as supply chains were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The lack of semiconductors has forced some automakers to cut production and appears to be spreading to a wide range of electronic items.
The Annapolis talks mark a rare personal diplomacy by the Biden government in the midst of the pandemic and Sullivan’s first trilateral since taking office.