Ankara: The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States, and Japan have reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and vowed to continue efforts to pursue dialogue with North Korea, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. The commitment was made during trilateral talks held Tuesday on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara between Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the ministry stated that the ministers shared assessments of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and agreed to maintain close coordination on North Korea-related policies, including efforts to counter Pyongyang's illicit cyberactivities. They also reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace and stability through dialogue and diplomacy.

The ministers exchanged views on regional and global developments, including the situation in the Middle East, and pledged to continue close coordination and make necessary contributions. Additionally, the three countries agreed to strengthen practical cooperation in economic security and supply chain resilience.

The diplomats welcomed the signing of a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) to establish a framework for trilateral cooperation on accelerating the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) in third countries, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. Building on achievements in areas such as nuclear energy, artificial intelligence, and quantum technology, they agreed to further deepen practical cooperation and stressed the importance of strengthening supply chain resilience and coordinating responses to economic coercion.

Tuesday's meeting marked the first trilateral foreign ministers' talks since the three top diplomats last met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the southeastern South Korean city of Gyeongju in October last year. The three foreign ministers agreed to continue meeting and maintaining close communication as frequently as possible while working to deliver tangible results in various areas of trilateral cooperation.