Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Kono attended the Ninth Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting between Japan, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea (ROK). He exchanged opinions with his counterparts, State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi and Minister of Foreign Affairs of ROK Kang Kyung-wha. They agreed on a policy of denuclearization in North Korea and expansion of people-to-people exchanges. Minister Kono stated, "The cooperation among Japan, China, and ROK should not be interrupted," and underscored the importance of the trilateral cooperation over the last 20 years.

<August 21 (Wednesday) Beijing>