'South Korea, U.S. and Japan sign Arctic maritime cooperation memorandum; Foreign Minister Cho Hyun joins

[Financial News] The foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, and Japan signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) for the Trilateral Arctic Pacific Partnership (TAPP), aimed at Arctic maritime cooperation. The partnership is an economic and security working-level consultative body launched by the three countries to pursue maritime activities in the Arctic, secure energy resources, and stabilize supply chains.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu met on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Atlanta, U.S., on the 30th (local time) and signed the memorandum. The three ministers signed a memorandum of cooperation to explore maritime cooperation and economic partnerships in Arctic waters on the Pacific side. The three countries reaffirmed the commitments in the joint statement adopted at the time and agreed to continue trilateral meetings at all levels.
Shortly after signing, Secretary Rubio wrote on his X account (formerly Twitter), “Protecting the Pacific Arctic is a priority we share with Japan and the Republic of Korea.”
The three ministers also reaffirmed their firm commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions. This includes a ban on funding North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The three countries also praised the work of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), which has uncovered North Korean sanctions violations and evasion.
The three ministers also stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Secretary Rubio raised China’s attempts to dominate the South China Sea, its coercive behavior in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea, and cooperation between Russia and China that undermines peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
On economic security, they reaffirmed their shared opposition to economic coercion and the weaponization of supply chains. The three ministers reviewed progress in implementing the South Korea-U.S.-Japan Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Cooperation Memorandum signed in Ankara, Türkiye, on July 7, and discussed areas of cooperation identified at trilateral economic security consultations held in Seoul on October 15. The foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, and Japan last met together about 40 days earlier, at a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 21. It was their fourth meeting this year.
[email protected] Kim Kyung-soo Reporter