The Prime Minister’s Office of Japan released the following statement.
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On Aug. 18, commencing at 11:30 a.m. (local time, on Aug. 19, 0:30 a.m. Japan time), Mr. Kishida Fumio, prime minister of Japan, who is visiting Camp David, the United States, held a Japan-U.S.-ROK summit (for approximately 60 minutes) and a small-group working lunch (for approximately 60 minutes) with the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States of America, and H.E. Mr. Yoon Suk Yeol, president of the Republic of Korea (ROK). The overview of the meeting is as follows.
After the meeting, the “Camp David Principles,” the Japan-U.S.-ROK joint leaders’ statement, and “Commitment to Consult among Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States” were released.
1. At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida expressed his sympathies on the damage caused by the wildfires in Maui, Hawaii and his condolences on the passing of President Yoon’s father. He expressed his sincere appreciation for President Biden’s invitation to Camp David, which has been a place for many historic meetings, and also stated that it was a pleasure to see President Yoon again.
2. In order to maintain a free and open international order based on the rule of law, the three leaders took today’s meeting as an opportunity to declare a “new era of trilateral partnership,” building upon respective strong bilateral relationships. In addition, the three leaders concurred to enhance strategic coordination between the U.S.-Japan alliance and the U.S.-ROK alliance and bring trilateral security cooperation to new heights.
3. President Biden reaffirmed that the U.S. extended deterrence commitments to both Japan and the ROK are ironclad and backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities. The three leaders strongly condemned ballistic missile launches by North Korea, which pose a grave threat to peace and security of the international community, and reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
The three leaders confirmed that they will continue to work closely to enhance deterrence and response capabilities in the region, and to ensure the full implementation of UNSC resolutions. The three leaders also concurred to closely coordinate at the UNSC, where Japan, the U.S. and the ROK will be working together as the members in 2024.
The three leaders shared the recognition that the path to dialogue with North Korea remains open. Prime Minister Kishida also expressed his appreciation for continued support from President Biden and President Yoon on the abductions issue.
4. Given the strategic importance of cooperation among Japan, the U.S. and the ROK, the three leaders exchanged their views on unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force, regional situations including in Ukraine, as well as on coordination to realize a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” particularly cooperation with ASEAN and Pacific Island countries. The three leaders also exchanged their views on strengthening coordination on economic security, including critical and emerging technology cooperation as well as supply chain resilience, and concurred to expand the horizons of the trilateral cooperation.
5. The three leaders concurred to further enhance the collaboration among Japan, the U.S. and the ROK in a multi-layered and stable manner, including by trilateral meetings at least annually including at the leader’s level, which the three countries concurred at this meeting, as well as through the newly established trilateral initiatives and frameworks.
Japan-U.S. Summit
On Aug. 18, commencing at 10:35 a.m. (11:35 p.m., Aug. 18, Japan time), for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. Kishida Fumio, prime minister of Japan, who is visiting Camp David to attend the Japan-U.S.-ROK summit meeting, held a meeting with the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., president of the United States of America. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
1. At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida reiterated his sympathies on the wild fires in Maui, Hawaii and stated Japan’s decision to provide relief measures for the victims of the disaster. He also stated that the Japan-U.S.-ROK summit meeting is meaningful, and in response, President Biden stated that he wishes to deepen cooperation between Japan and the U.S. as well as among Japan, the U.S., and the ROK under the increasingly severe security environment.
2. The two leaders exchanged views on regional issues.
• Regarding Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the two leaders concurred on continuing severe sanctions against Russia and robust support for Ukraine in close coordination with the G7 and other like-minded countries.
• The two leaders concurred on continuing to work closely together in addressing issues related to China. The two leaders also confirmed the importance of cooperating with China on shared challenges. Furthermore, the two leaders reiterated the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.
• Prime Minister Kishida expressed his appreciation for the U.S. support and understanding concerning Japan’s efforts on the ALPS treated water. The two leaders exchanged views on coordination to prevent the spread of disinformation regarding the ALPS treated water.
3. Recognizing the U.S. commitment to the defense of Japan backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities, the two leaders welcomed that the two countries will initiate the joint development of GPI (Glide Phase Interceptor) for further strengthening alliance deterrence and response capabilities.
Japan-ROK Summit
On Aug. 18, commencing at 2 p.m. (local time. 3 a.m. on Aug. 19, Japan time) for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. Kishida Fumio, prime minister of Japan, held a summit meeting with H.E. Mr. Yoon Suk Yeol, president of the Republic of Korea (ROK), during his visit to Camp David, the United States of America, for the Japan-U.S.-ROK summit. The summary of the bilateral meeting is as follows.
1. At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida stated that he was delighted to hold a bilateral summit meeting with President Yoon for the fifth time this year, following their previous meetings in Tokyo, Seoul, Hiroshima and Vilnius (Lithuania), here in the U.S. Prime Minister Kishida expressed his deepest condolences on the passing of President Yoon’s father, and extended his sympathies once again about the damage caused by the recent heavy rain in the ROK.
2. The two leaders welcomed the continued bolstering of a broad range of dialogue and cooperation between the two countries, including the expansion of economic and business interactions, recovery in the number of flights, and the expansion of collaboration in the financial and energy sectors.
The two leaders affirmed that their governments would coordinate further towards the holding of the Japan-ROK Vice-Ministerial Strategic Dialogue in this autumn, which the leaders had decided in March to resume early.
They also concurred to move forward with preparations for a meaningful discussion at the Japan-ROK high-level economic consultations to be held within this year, following up their meeting in July.
3. The two leaders welcomed that the Japan-U.S.-ROK summit held on the same day was a landmark achievement in enhancing coordination between the U.S.-Japan alliance and ROK-U.S. alliance and bringing trilateral security cooperation to new heights. The two leaders shared the view on the importance of coordination in the international arena including at the United Nations, bearing in mind that both Japan and ROK will be working together as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council next year.
4. The two leaders decided to continue to communicate with each other frequently in the second half of this year, including on the sidelines of various international conferences.