S.KOREA-U.S.-JAPAN TRILATERAL TALKS

[Anchor Lead]

The top diplomats of S. Korea, the U.S.and Japan have met in Hawaii to discuss national security issues on the Korean Peninsula. They condemned Pyongyang's missile provocations and urged it to resume dialogue as soon as possible.

[Pkg]

The top diplomats of Seoul, Washington and Tokyo met in Hawaii to discuss North Korea's missile provocations. They issued a joint communique condemning ballistic missile launches for causing instability in the region.

[Soundbite] Antony Blinken(U.S. Secretary of State)

The three diplomats say they have no hostile intentions toward Pyongyang and the door to unconditional negotiations is still open. The meeting once again reaffirmed the three nations' commitment to solving North Korea issues in a diplomatic way through strong collaboration in national security.

[Soundbite] Chung Eui-yong(S. Korean Foreign Minister) : "We reaffirmed that having dialogue and diplomacy with North Korea is more important than ever and　agreed on a number of practical issues to step up Pyongyang's engagement."

S. Korea's Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong separately met with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi for the first time. They exchanged opinions on the issue of wartime forced labor and Japan's bid to list the Sado mine as UNESCO World Heritage. No agreements were signed. The top diplomats of the three sides agreed to collaborate on international issues such as deterring Russia from heightening tensions in Ukraine.