Korea, US, Japan reaffirm N. Korea's denuclearization goal, urge dialogue

South Korea, the United States and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea’s complete denuclearization after trilateral talks in New York on Monday. The three top diplomats also called on Pyongyang to resume dialogue and stressed peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. They additionally emphasized Taiwan Strait stability, economic security, and cooperation on supply chains and energy resilience.

The statement was issued after Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly High-Level Week in New York.

The three governments said they opposed support for revenue generation for North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs under relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The U.S. side reiterated its ironclad commitment to defend South Korea and Japan, backed by America’s nuclear capabilities.

The diplomats welcomed the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team’s work on North Korea’s violations and evasions of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

They also committed to a plan to implement the July 7 trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation to accelerate small modular reactor deployments in other countries.

Published Sep 22, 2026 3:17 am KST

Updated Sep 22, 2026 7:22 am KST

Korea Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Monday. Reuters-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan reiterated their "resolute" commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of North Korea and called on the recalcitrant regime to resume dialogue in a joint statement issued after their trilateral talks in New York on Monday.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly High-Level Week, also stressing the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

"The Secretary and the Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the prohibition on support for revenue generation for the DPRK's nuclear and ballistic missile programs in accordance with the relevant U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions," the three governments said in the statement, referring to North Korea by its official name.

"They also reaffirmed that the path to dialogue remains open and called on the DPRK to resume dialogue, while continuing to make efforts to advance peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."

Their call for the resumption of dialogue with Pyongyang came as U.S. President Donald Trump hopes to have a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year to rekindle his personal diplomacy with the dynastic ruler in Pyongyang.

While calling for dialogue, the U.S. side reiterated its "ironclad" commitments to the defense of South Korea and Japan, "backed by America's unmatched military strength, including its nuclear capabilities," according to the statement.

Cho, Rubio and Motegi also welcomed the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team's (MSMT) work on North Korea's violations and evasions of UNSC resolutions. MSMT is a group established in 2024 to monitor sanctions evasions and breaches.

"They welcomed the alert to countries, companies and other entities regarding North Korean IT workers issued by like-minded countries, and progress in addressing DPRK's cyber threats including through the trilateral working group meeting in June," the governments said.

The chief diplomats underlined the importance of peace across the Taiwan Strait, where tensions continue as Beijing has not ruled out the use of force to take control of Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that it regards as part of its territory.

"The Secretary and Foreign Ministers encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues and opposed any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo. They expressed support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in appropriate international organizations," the governments said.

"They also underscored their support for preserving freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce, and other lawful uses of the sea for all nations in the Indo-Pacific and globally, in accordance with international law as reflected in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea."

Their mention of Taiwan and Indo-Pacific maritime issues came as Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to have a summit at the White House on Thursday, where the leaders are expected to discuss a range of issues, including geopolitical ones.

The three sides also highlighted cooperation on economic security issues, including supply chain resilience.

"Standing firmly against economic coercion and non-market policies and practices leading to harmful overcapacity and market distortion, including arbitrary export restrictions that disrupt supply chains, the Secretary and the Foreign Ministers resolved to maintain free and transparent trade and secure critical supply chains," they said.

To this end, they committed to enhance the trilateral supply chain early warning system and welcomed the launch of a new trilateral consultation on economic security.

In addition, the diplomats stressed the need to strengthen regional energy supply resilience, including by increasing oil stockpiles and promoting collaboration between producing and consuming countries, while welcoming initiatives to enhance energy security through regional cooperation, according to the statement.

"They committed to a plan to implement the July 7 trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation to accelerate small modular reactor deployments in other countries in a mutually beneficial manner and under the highest standards of nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation," the three sides said.

In addition, the diplomats resolved to cooperatively reinforce advanced-technology stacks and supply chain resilience and to promote and protect critical and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, digital infrastructure, and biotechnology.

The top diplomats of the three nations previously held trilateral talks on the margins of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Turkey on July 7 and on the sidelines of a regional forum involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the Philippines on July 22.

周一，韩国、美国和日本在纽约举行三方会谈后，重申了对朝鲜彻底无核化的承诺。三国高级外交官还呼吁平壤恢复对话，并强调朝鲜半岛的和平与稳定。此外，他们还强调了台海稳定、经济安全以及在供应链和能源韧性方面的合作。

该声明是在韩国外交部长赵显铉、美国国务卿马可·卢比奥和日本外相茂木敏充在纽约联合国大会高级别周期间会晤后发表的。

这三个政府表示，他们反对根据联合国安理会相关决议为朝鲜的核武器和弹道导弹计划提供创收支持。

美方重申了其捍卫韩国和日本的坚定承诺，并将以美国的核能力作为后盾。

外交官们对多边制裁监督小组就朝鲜违反和规避联合国安理会决议的行为所做的工作表示欢迎。

他们还承诺执行7月7日签署的三方合作备忘录，以加快在其他国家部署小型模块化反应堆。

发布于2026年9月22日凌晨3:17（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月22日 上午7:22（韩国标准时间）

周一，韩国外长赵显铉和日本外相茂木敏充在纽约举行的第81届联合国大会期间会见了美国国务卿马可·卢比奥。路透社-韩联社

华盛顿——韩国、美国和日本的高级外交官周一在纽约举行三方会谈后发表联合声明，重申了他们对朝鲜“彻底”无核化的“坚定”承诺，并呼吁顽固的朝鲜政权恢复对话。

韩国外长赵显铉、美国国务卿马可·卢比奥和日本外相茂木敏充在联合国大会高级别周期间举行会晤，并强调了维护台湾海峡和平稳定的重要性。

三国政府在声明中表示：“国务卿和外长重申了他们坚定致力于朝鲜民主主义人民共和国（朝鲜）完全无核化，并根据联合国安理会相关决议，禁止支持朝鲜的核武器和弹道导弹计划以获取收入。”声明中，朝鲜使用了其正式名称。

他们还重申，对话之路依然畅通，并呼吁朝鲜恢复对话，同时继续努力促进朝鲜半岛的和平与稳定。

他们呼吁恢复与平壤的对话，与此同时，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普希望在今年晚些时候与朝鲜领导人金正恩会面，以重燃他与平壤这位王朝统治者之间的个人外交。

声明称，美方在呼吁对话的同时，重申了其对韩国和日本防卫的“坚定”承诺，“以美国无与伦比的军事实力，包括其核能力为后盾”。

赵镛基、卢比奥和茂木敏充也对多边制裁监督小组（MSMT）就朝鲜违反和规避联合国安理会决议的行为所做的工作表示欢迎。MSMT成立于2024年，旨在监督规避和违反制裁的行为。

“他们欢迎志同道合的国家就朝鲜IT从业人员问题向各国、公司和其他实体发出警报，并对在应对朝鲜网络威胁方面取得的进展表示欢迎，包括通过6月份举行的三方工作组会议，”各国政府表示。

两国外交大臣强调了台湾海峡和平的重要性。由于北京尚未排除使用武力控制台湾（中国视其为领土的一部分，台湾是一个自治民主国家），因此台湾海峡的紧张局势仍在持续。

“国务卿和外长鼓励和平解决两岸问题，反对任何单方面改变现状的企图。他们表示支持台湾有意义地参与相关国际组织。”两国政府表示。

“他们还强调，支持维护印度洋-太平洋地区乃至全球所有国家根据《联合国海洋法公约》所体现的国际法，享有航行和飞越自由、畅通无阻的合法商业以及其他合法的海洋用途。”

在特朗普和中国国家主席习近平将于周四在白宫举行峰会之际，他们提到了台湾和印太地区的海洋问题。预计两位领导人将在峰会上讨论一系列问题，包括地缘政治问题。

三方还强调了在经济安全问题上的合作，包括供应链韧性。

他们表示：“国务卿和外交部长坚决反对导致有害产能过剩和市场扭曲的经济胁迫和非市场政策及做法，包括扰乱供应链的任意出口限制，决心维护自由透明的贸易，保障关键供应链的安全。”

为此，他们承诺加强三方供应链预警系统，并欢迎启动新的三方经济安全磋商。

声明还指出，外交官们强调需要加强区域能源供应韧性，包括增加石油储备和促进生产国与消费国之间的合作，同时欢迎通过区域合作加强能源安全的各项举措。

三方表示：“他们承诺执行7月7日签署的三方合作备忘录，以互利的方式，在核安全、安保和不扩散的最高标准下，加快在其他国家部署小型模块化反应堆。”

此外，外交官们决心合作加强先进技术体系和供应链韧性，并促进和保护人工智能、量子技术、数字基础设施和生物技术等关键和新兴技术。

这三个国家的高级外交官此前分别于7月7日在土耳其举行的北大西洋公约组织峰会期间以及7月22日在菲律宾举行的东南亚国家联盟区域论坛期间举行了三方会谈。