Joint Statement on North Korea Joint Press Statement

Honolulu, Hawaii
May 26, 2001
The delegations of the United States of America, the Republic of Korea
(ROK) and Japan, headed respectively by Assistant Secretary of State
for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James A. Kelly, Deputy Foreign
Minister Ambassador Yim Sung-joon, and Director-General of Asian and
Oceanian Affairs Kunihiko Makita, held this year's second U.S.-ROK-
Japan Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group (TCOG) meeting in
Honolulu on May 26.
The three delegations reviewed the situation on the Korean Peninsula
and the status of their bilateral relations with the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea. They expressed their strong continued
support for the Republic of Korea's policy of reconciliation and
cooperation with North Korea and President Kim's leading role in
resolving inter-Korean issues.
The three delegations also reiterated the importance of continued close
consultation and coordination of policy toward North Korea on the range
of issues, including missiles, weapons of mass destruction, and
humanitarian affairs. In this regard, the three delegations expressed
the shared hope that North Korea would take steps to address the
concerns of the international community.
The delegations reaffirmed their commitment to continue the 1994 Agreed
Framework and called on North Korea to join them in taking the needed
steps for its successful implementation.
The ROK delegation members briefed their counterparts on the current
situation in the North-South dialogue and their expectation that
Chairman Kim Jong Il will pay a return visit to Seoul. The U.S. and
Japanese delegations voiced hope that a second inter-Korean summit
would contribute to the expansion of North-South cooperation and
exchanges and lead to a substantial reduction of tensions on the Korean
Peninsula.
The U.S. side presented preliminary elements of the Administration's
review of policy toward North Korea. The U.S. invited the ROK and Japan
to provide comments and suggestions. The U.S. delegation was deeply
appreciative of the excellent exchanges of views that will help bring
the review to a conclusion soon.
The Japanese delegation explained the current status of Japan-DPRK
relations and expressed its continuing readiness to conduct Japan-DPRK
normalization talks and to pursue an engagement policy with the DPRK.
Finally, the three sides agreed to hold the next round of trilateral
consultations within a few months to further coordinate their
respective policies towards the DPRK.