The finance ministers of the United States, Japan and South Korea on Wednesday held a trilateral meeting for the first time, as the countries expand the scope of their cooperation beyond security.
The ministers met in Washington on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a press conference on Tuesday that she will coordinate with her Japanese and South Korean counterparts, Shunichi Suzuki and Choi Sang Mok, "on issues from sanctions to climate and financial resilience in the Pacific Islands."
The reference to sanctions could relate to measures against Russia over its war with Ukraine, North Korea over its nuclear and missile development programs, or Iran, which launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on the weekend.
The three countries have been expanding coordination beyond addressing the threat posed by North Korea, following a three-way summit of U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last August.
During the summit at the U.S. presidential retreat of Camp David near Washington, the leaders agreed to expand cooperation to various domains, including supply chains for key industrial materials and development projects, in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
