The Trilateral Coordinating Secretariat is a new institutional body set up by the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea to coordinate and implement their shared trilateral commitments. It supports follow‑up, operationalization, and cross‑sector collaboration (security, economic security, technology, people‑to‑people ties) by convening managing‑board and working‑level meetings and tracking progress on trilateral initiatives.
There is no published fixed calendar: the countries have convened Managing Board and Secretariat meetings multiple times since creation (e.g., May 2025, August 2025 and January 2026), indicating meetings occur periodically and as needed—often several times a year—but not on a publicly stated regular schedule.
In this trilateral context, “economic security” refers to protecting and strengthening critical economic systems and supply chains (e.g., critical minerals, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals), coordinating on resilience to disruptions, preventing illicit economic activities, and aligning policies on critical and emerging technologies to safeguard national security and economic stability.
The Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP) is the State Department bureau responsible for U.S. diplomacy in East Asia and the Pacific. A Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary is a senior career official who helps lead the bureau, oversees policy implementation, represents the bureau in high‑level meetings, and stands in for the Assistant Secretary as needed.
Deputy Director‑Generals at Japan’s and ROK’s foreign ministries are senior career officials empowered to run regional desks, negotiate policy details, convene technical and managing‑board meetings, and translate political guidance into operable trilateral initiatives; they do not by themselves set high‑level strategy but have substantial authority to shape implementation and coordination across ministries.
Yes—these meetings commonly produce public media notes or joint statements and follow‑up actions; official releases, communiqués, or managing‑board notes are normally published on participating governments’ websites (e.g., U.S. State Department press releases, host‑country foreign ministry statements, or White House statements).