Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2023

August 18, 2023

President Biden. Well, welcome, everyone. Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. President, it's an honor to welcome you both here today to inaugurate the Camp David trilateral between our three nationsâamong our three nations.

It's not only the first summit I've hosted at Camp David, it's the first-ever stand-alone summit between the leaders of Japan and Republic of Korea and the United States.

And I can think of no better wayâno better wayâto mark our new chapter of our trilateral cooperation than meeting here at Camp David.

And so strengthening the ties between our democracies has long been a priority for me, dating back to when I was Vice President of the United States. That's because our countries are stronger and the world is saferâlet me say that againâour countries are stronger and the world will be safer as we stand together. And I know this is a belief we all three share.

And I want to thank you both for your political courage that brought you here. And I'm looking forward to us having a great meeting, but continuing these meetings.

You've stepped up to do the hard workâthe, I would argue, historic workâto forge a foundation from which we can face the future togetherâthe three of us together. And I'm deeply grateful for your leadership, and I look forward to working with both of you as we begin this new era of cooperation and renew our resolve to serve as a force of good across the Indo-Pacific and, quite frankly, around the world as well.

President Yoon, let me turn this over to you.

President Yoon. I would like to extend my gratitude to President Biden for his warm hospitality. Last July, we met in Vilnius for the NATO summit, and I'm pleased to be reunited in about a month.

At this symbolic venue of Camp David in the history of modern diplomacy, our trilateral partnership is opening a new chapter, which carries great significance, in my view.

President Roosevelt once stated: Freedom is not a given, but something you fight to win. To make sure that each of our freedoms is neither threatened or damaged, our three nations must tighten our solidarity. Such is also our promise and mandate towards our future generations.

The stronger coordination between Korea, the U.S., and Japan requires more robust institutional foundations. Moreover, challenges that threaten regional security must be addressed by us building a stronger commitment to working together.

Today will be remembered as a historic day where we established a firm institutional basis and commitments to the trilateral partnership. Today I hope we will explore together ways to elevate cooperation between Korea, the U.S., and Japan to a new plane through in-depth discussions.

Prime Minister Kishida. First of all, I would like to express my sympathy once again for the devastating damages caused by the wildfires in Maui, Hawaii. In order to provide relief to the affected people, Japan has decided to offer a total of around $2 million of support. I offer my heartfelt prayer for the earliest possible recovery of the affected areas.

May I also once again convey my heartfelt condolences for the passing away of President Yoon's father.

And now I would like to thank Joe for your kind invitation to the two of us to Camp David, a place with history.

President Yoon, I have been meeting you almost on a monthly basis since March of this year. But the fact that we, the three leaders, have got together in this way, I believe, means that we are indeed making a new history as of today.

The international community is at a turning point in history. In order to allow the potential of our trilateral strategic collaboration to bloom and to blossom, I wish to take this moment to raise the security coordination between Japan, R.O.K., and the U.S. to new heights while strengthening the coordination between the Japan-U.S. and the U.S.-R.O.K. alliances as we deepen our cooperation in the response to North Korea.

I wish to expand and deepen our collaboration in extensive areas, including economic security, such as critical and emergent technology cooperation and supply chains resilience.

Today I look forward to engaging in frank discussions amongst ourselves in order to declare a new era of Japan-U.S.-R.O.K. partnership.

I once again express my gratitude for Joe's initiative. Thank you.

President Biden. Thank you. We politely ask the press to leave. Thank you for coming in.

NOTE: The President spoke at 11:29 a.m. in the Laurel Lodge. In his remarks, Prime Minister Kishida referred to Yoon Ki Jung, father of President Yoon, who died on August 15. President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida spoke in Korean and Japanese, respectively, and their remarks were translated by interpreters.

Categories: Meetings With Foreign Leaders and International Officials : South Korea, President Yoon; Meetings With Foreign Leaders and International Officials : Japan, Prime Minister Kishida.

Locations: Camp David, MD.

Names: Kishida, Fumio; Yoon Suk Yeol.

Subjects: Indo-Pacific, economic and security cooperation; Japan, Prime Minister; Japan, relations with South Korea; Japan, relations with U.S.; Maryland, President's visit; South Korea, President; South Korea, relations with Japan; South Korea, relations with U.S.

DCPD Number: DCPD202300702.