(LEAD) S Korea-US-Japan-FM talks

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details from para 4)

By Chang Dong-woo

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea during trilateral talks, the U.S. State Department said.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on the sidelines of a Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Atlanta, according to a State Department readout.

"The Secretary and Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization" of North Korea and the full implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the department said.

The three ministers also underscored the need to enforce U.N. sanctions prohibiting activities that generate revenue for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, while commending the work of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) in exposing North Korea's sanctions violations and evasion.

They emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Rubio also raised concerns about China's actions in the South China Sea, East China Sea and Yellow Sea, as well as cooperation between Russia and China that Washington says undermines peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

During the meeting, the three ministers signed a memorandum of cooperation establishing a Trilateral Arctic Pacific Partnership (TAPP) to explore maritime cooperation and economic partnerships in the Pacific Arctic.

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