US, Japan and South Korea Recommit to North Korean Denuclearization as Chinese Sorties Near Taiwan Double

Republic of China Navy frigates Cheng Kung and Yung An at Kaohsiung port, Taiwan (file photo). Photo: YangChen(TW), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met on the sidelines of the G20 in Atlanta on October 30 and reaffirmed their “resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization” of North Korea, the State Department said. The US Japan South Korea trilateral session came as Taiwan reported more than twice as many Chinese military flights around the island as the day before.

Key figures: 13 chinese military aircraft sorties near taiwan, up from 6 · 6 aircraft that crossed the taiwan strait median line · $269M hanwha’s first us navy shipbuilding contract

What the three ministers agreed

The ministers called for full enforcement of UN Security Council sanctions on Pyongyang and praised the reporting of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team on sanctions evasion, according to the State Department readout. Cho said South Korea would act as a “pacemaker” for renewed dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang, Yonhap reported, citing Seoul’s Foreign Ministry.

The three governments also signed a memorandum creating a Trilateral Arctic Pacific Partnership and agreed to deepen cooperation on critical minerals, small modular reactors and artificial intelligence, The Korea Herald reported. A wire report carried by The Japan Times noted speculation about a possible meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un around next month’s APEC summit in China. No meeting has been announced.

Pyongyang rejects the sanctions statement

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry rejected a joint statement by 11 countries and the European Union that backed continued enforcement of sanctions. “Time proves that the ‘sanctions’ on the DPRK are doomed to go bankrupt,” a spokesperson said in a statement carried by KCNA !Unverified claim, KCNA (North Korean state media), Yonhap reported. North Korean state media also said Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui held “friendly” talks in Pyongyang with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis after Switzerland opened its first diplomatic office there, according to Yonhap.

Separately, the blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs said it had “high confidence” that the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor stole an estimated $6.36 billion from the Binance exchange, Yonhap reported. Asked about North Korea’s role, Trump said, “We don’t know. We are looking at that.” Our Oct. 30 Indo-Pacific report covered Pyongyang’s latest drone demonstration.

Taiwan tracks more Chinese aircraft

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said it detected 13 sorties by Chinese military aircraft, seven navy ships and two other official ships around Taiwan in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. Taipei time on October 31, the ministry said. Six of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, and Taiwan responded with patrol aircraft, navy vessels and coastal missile systems. A day earlier the ministry had reported six aircraft and seven ships, according to its October 30 notice.

By the numbers

Aircraft sorties rose from six to 13, an increase of seven, or about 117%, TBR calculations from the ministry’s two daily reports. Median-line crossings doubled from three to six. The navy ship count was unchanged at seven, while other official ships rose from one to two. Even at 13 sorties, the day was a single 24-hour snapshot, and the ministry did not describe it as a named exercise.

Japan presses Russia; Hanwha wins a Navy deal

Motegi also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Atlanta and “strongly demanded the immediate release” of a Japanese national detained on Sakhalin, Japan’s embassy in Washington said, The Japan Times reported. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said through Interfax that full dialogue would require Tokyo to abandon “unfriendly policies.”

Hanwha Defense USA, part of South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace, won a $269 million contract to build a medium landing ship for the US Navy and Marine Corps at its Philadelphia shipyard, its first US Navy shipbuilding contract, Yonhap reported. Construction is set to begin in late 2027.

China’s purge and tech dispute

A senior Communist Party official said the anti-graft campaign had removed “serious hidden dangers” in the party and military, a day after the expulsion of a record 33 figures was confirmed, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported, citing AFP. Xinhua reported that Fu Chengyu, 75, the former head of Sinopec and CNOOC, is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law” !Unverified claim, Xinhua (Chinese state media), the South China Morning Post reported. Beijing’s demand that Washington lift its ban on Chinese device-testing labs is covered in our FCC test-lab story.

In Japan, the Foreign Ministry said about 3,600 sets of names and email addresses may have been exposed after a third party stole login credentials for an email service, The Japan Times reported. In the Philippines, former President Rodrigo Duterte will skip the last International Criminal Court hearing before his November 30 crimes-against-humanity trial, the Inquirer reported.

Watch for whether North Korea answers the Atlanta statement with new launches, whether Chinese air activity near Taiwan stays elevated, and preparations for the ASEAN summit in Manila on November 14-18. Today’s trade war report follows US-China shipping talks.

Sources

• US Department of State: United States-Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting
• Yonhap News Agency: (2nd LD) S. Korean, U.S., Japanese FMs reaffirm 'resolute commitment' to complete denuclearization of N. Korea
• The Korea Herald: S. Korea, US, Japan reaffirm NK denuclearization goal, bolster economic ties
• The Japan Times: U.S., South Korea and Japan vow 'complete' denuclearization of North Korea
• Yonhap News Agency: N. Korea slams multination statement backing anti-Pyongyang sanctions as 'strategic failure'
• Yonhap News Agency: N. Korea reports on Swiss FM's visit following opening of diplomatic office
• Yonhap News Agency: (2nd LD) N. Korean hackers blamed for record US$6.36 bln Binance cryptocurrency theft: U.S. firm
• Taiwan Ministry of National Defense: PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan
• Taiwan Ministry of National Defense: PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan
• The Japan Times: Japan demands release of national in meeting with Russia's Lavrov
• Yonhap News Agency: Hanwha Defense USA wins US$269 mln U.S. Navy shipbuilding contract
• Philippine Daily Inquirer: China ruling party says it 'eliminated dangers' after 33 were expelled
• South China Morning Post: China places former Sinopec and CNOOC boss Fu Chengyu, 75, under corruption probe
• The Japan Times: Foreign ministry says 3,600 sets of personal information may have been leaked
• Philippine Daily Inquirer: Duterte to skip final ICC hearing before Nov. 30 trial

Additional sources

• South China Morning Post: China poised to restore military presence to top leadership
• Philippine Daily Inquirer: Flights canceled for the ASEAN summit