Tokyo, Japan - Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan met Tuesday with Japanese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeo Akiba in Tokyo, Japan. During the meeting, the two reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Japan Alliance as the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Deputy Secretary Sullivan and Vice Minister Akiba discussed how to further the strong security alliance and cooperate in new areas to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific. Deputy Secretary Sullivan and Vice Minister Akiba also pledged to work together toward achieving both countries’ shared goal of a final, fully verifiable denuclearized North Korea, including through trilateral cooperation with the Republic of Korea.