Officials of the United States, Japan and South Korea representing the Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group met in Tokyo November 9 to discuss North Korea's uranium enrichment program for nuclear weapons and to call "upon North Korea to dismantle this program in a prompt and verifiable manner."

The delegations agreed that the North Korean program "is a violation of the Agreed Framework, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, North Korea's International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards agreement, and the South-North Joint Declaration on Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

Richard Boucher, Spokesman
Washington, DC
November 9, 2002

Joint Statement by the Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group,
Tokyo, November 9, 2002

"The delegations of Japan, the United States of America and the Republic of Korea, headed respectively by Director-General of Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Hitoshi Tanaka, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James A. Kelly, and Deputy Foreign Minister, Ambassador Lee Tae-sik, held this year's fifth Japan-U.S.-Republic of Korea Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group meeting in Tokyo on November 9.

The three delegations reconfirmed that North Korea's program to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons is a violation of the Agreed Framework, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, North Korea's International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards agreement, and the South-North Joint
Declaration on Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The three delegations once again called upon North Korea to dismantle this program in a prompt and verifiable manner.

The three delegations, recalling the Joint U.S.-Japan-Republic of Korea Trilateral Statement issued at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders meeting, reaffirmed their commitment to seek to resolve this matter peacefully in close consultation trilaterally and with other concerned nations around the globe. In this regard, they discussed the range of options available to them collectively in their diplomatic efforts, and welcomed numerous strong statements by the international community calling on North Korea to end its nuclear weapons programs and abide by its international commitments.

The three delegations reaffirmed that South-North and Japan-Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea dialogues serve as important channels to resolve bilateral concerns and to call upon North Korea to respond quickly and visibly to the international community's demands for a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. As stated in the Joint U.S.-Japan-Republic of Korea Trilateral Statement, North Korea can benefit from greater participation as a member of the international community, but that participation rests on North Korea's prompt and verifiable dismantling of its nuclear weapons programs.

Finally, the three delegations reiterated that continued close consultations and trilateral coordination remain vital to the success of their individual efforts and agreed to hold the next round of trilateral consultations in the near future to further coordinate their respective policies toward North Korea."