 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) delivers a speech at a joint press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong (L) and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi after a meeting in Honolulu on February 12, 2022. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/AP) |
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi released a joint statement reiterating the importance of their cooperation in responding to major challenges of the 21st century.
The statement condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches and expressed deep concern about the destabilizing nature of those actions. The three pledged to cooperate to achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
They called for full implementation by the international community of UN Security Council resolutions relating to North Korea, and called on Pyongyang to cease its unlawful activities and instead engage in dialogue.
They emphasized that there is no hostile intent toward North Korea and underscored their continued openness to meeting with North Korea without preconditions.