The foreign ministers of the United States, Japan and South Korea on Saturday held the door open to dialogue with North Korea, insisting they have "no hostile intent" toward the country as they affirmed their solidarity to address Pyongyang's missile threat.
The trilateral talks in Honolulu came after Pyongyang conducted a series of missile tests since the start of the year and suggested it may restart nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after the talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui Yong that the three countries "remain open to dialogue without preconditions," expressing hope that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will respond to the dialogue offer.
"We discussed ways that we can deepen trilateral cooperation to deter the DPRK, limit the reach of its most dangerous weapons (and) defend against its provocations or use of force," Blinken also said at a joint press conference in Hawaii.
DPRK is the acronym of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
The three said in a joint statement issued after the meeting that they have "no hostile intent" toward Pyongyang and committed to "close trilateral cooperation to achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula."
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The ministers also aired "strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to alter the status quo and increase tensions," and highlighted the "importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," in a veiled counter to China's growing military assertiveness in the East and South China seas.
As tensions are intensifying over Russia's military build-up near the Ukrainian border, the three countries shared "unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," and pledged to work together to "deter further Russian escalation."
The three nations last held in-person talks between their foreign ministers in New York in September on the fringes of the U.N. General Assembly sessions. It is Hayashi's first such meeting since he took office in November.
North Korea on Jan. 30 launched what its state-run media said was a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of striking the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam.
It was the nuclear-armed nation's first such missile test since November 2017 and the seventh round of test firings since the start of 2022.
Calling on Washington to drop its "hostile policy," North Korea in mid-January hinted at restarting nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests that it had suspended to build trust with former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The United States and its allies have condemned North Korea's repeated missile firings, while China, Pyongyang's main economic and security ally, has urged them not to overreact to the launches.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration places importance on trilateral cooperation to deal with the reclusive country, but the relationship between Tokyo and Seoul remains soured over wartime history and other disputes.
The rift between the two Asian neighbors deepened recently when Tokyo decided to recommend a former gold and silver mine on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan as a candidate for the 2023 UNESCO World Heritage list, despite Seoul's objection due to what it says was the mine's use of wartime forced labor by Koreans.
Chung said at the news conference that the outstanding bilateral problems do "not have any impact whatsoever on our relations for the issue of the DPRK."
Hayashi said that Japan raised the issue of the abduction of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s during the talks, seeking further cooperation in realizing their return home.
Blinken and Hayashi joined the trilateral meeting after attending "Quad" foreign ministerial talks in Melbourne, Australia on Friday. The grouping of major Indo-Pacific democracies also includes Australia and India.
