During the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Atlanta on Friday, October 30, 2026, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on the sidelines, where the three leaders reaffirmed a joint pledge to see North Korea fully denuclearized. According to a State Department readout, “The Secretary and Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and the full implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.”
In the remarks, the three ministers also highlighted the importance of enforcing U.N. sanctions that block revenue for Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. They lauded the work of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team for exposing sanctions violations and evasion, and urged continued pressure on the North Korean regime to comply with international obligations.
Rubio raised concerns about China’s increasing presence in the South China Sea, East China Sea and Yellow Sea, noting that cooperation between Russia and China could undermine peace and stability in the Indo‑Pacific region. He stressed the need to maintain stability across the Taiwan Strait as part of a broader strategy to counteract the North Korean threat.
Memorandum of Cooperation
Later in the day, the trio signed a memorandum of cooperation that established a new framework called the Trilateral Arctic Pacific Partnership – or TAPP – to explore maritime and economic collaboration in the Pacific Arctic. The partnership is intended to deepen the three countries’ maritime cooperation while keeping the focus on regional security in the face of rising tensions near the Korean Peninsula.
While the meeting was held in person, a separate online gathering of the three foreign ministers earlier in the week had also focused on maintaining the joint commitment to a nuclear‑free Korean Peninsula. In that virtual session, officials pledged to keep the global community updated on progress and to apply continued diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang.
“The Secretary and Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea,” said a State Department release, referencing the three ministers’ shared resolve.
The photographs taken by U.S. officials captured the three leaders shaking hands, with an accompanying caption noting the setting of the G20 meeting in Atlanta. These images served to underscore the visible unity of the three nations amid a complex regional security environment.
Both U.N. Security Council resolutions and the participation of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team continue to support the enforcement of sanctions, according to the State Department. The ministers emphasized that a comprehensive approach – combining diplomatic pressure, sanctions enforcement, and regional collaboration – remains essential to achieving lasting denuclearization of North Korea.
This orderly reaffirmation by the top diplomats of South Korea, the United States, and Japan rings as a signal to the international community that the three countries remain committed to a nuclear‑free Korean Peninsula, despite the evolving geopolitical dynamics in East Asia.
