US, Japan, South Korea sign Arctic partnership pact in Atlanta

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Friday in Atlanta, where the three signed a new Arctic partnership agreement and reaffirmed their commitment to regional security coordination, according to the State Department.

Arctic Partnership

The three officials signed the Trilateral Arctic Pacific Partnership (TAPP) memorandum to explore maritime cooperation and economic opportunities in the region, the State Department said in a statement. "The Secretary and Foreign Ministers signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) for a Trilateral Arctic Pacific Partnership (TAPP) to explore maritime cooperation and economic partnership in the Pacific Arctic," the department said, noting the meeting took place on the margins of the G20 summit. The pact establishes a framework for sustained collaboration in the strategically vital Arctic region.

Regional Security

The ministers reiterated their commitment to North Korea's denuclearization and urged full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions targeting Pyongyang's weapons programs. They emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Rubio raised concerns over China's efforts to assert control in the South China Sea, according to the statement.

Economic and Energy Ties

Economic security featured prominently in the discussions, with the ministers expressing opposition to economic coercion and the weaponization of supply chains. They reviewed progress on implementing a trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation on Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Deployments. The SMR agreement was initially signed in Ankara on the sidelines of a NATO summit in July.

The meeting took place on Friday in Atlanta as foreign ministers gathered for the G20 summit.