Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia must immediately stop, and the North should not be rewarded for its wrongdoings in the war in Ukraine.

Cho made the remarks at a press conference following a trilateral meeting with his Japanese and Chinese counterparts in Tokyo on Saturday. He also said that South Korea, Japan, and China have affirmed that maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula is a common interest and responsibility of the three countries.

The minister anticipated to continue communications with Tokyo and Beijing, with all three countries affected by the North Korean nuclear issue as well as peace and stability on the peninsula.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said they agreed on the necessity and responsibility to offer more stabilizing elements toward regional peace and development through reinforced communication, promotion of trust, and enhanced cooperation.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said he had expressed a resolve to closely communicate with Seoul and Beijing over the full enforcement of the United Nations Security Council(UNSC) resolutions on the North, with denuclearization as the shared goal.

The three ministers also agreed to accelerate efforts to ensure that a trilateral summit can be held as soon as possible and at the right time.

The latest meeting between the three foreign ministers took place 16 months after the last one in Busan in November 2023.