Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be once again in our trilateral meeting with Ministers Kim and Matsumoto. And I thank Japan for hosting this second ministerial trilateral. I also congratulate the Republic of Korea for the excellent news about hosting the Olympics. And I congratulate Japan for its hard fought victory over the U.S. Women's team in last week's World Cup finale which cost me some very good New York apples in my bet with the foreign minister. We were not happy with the results, but we were very impressed with the Japanese team. It was a great game. And I think that friendly bet that we made between apples and pears is just another small but significant example of our continuing close partnership, and friendship, and alliance among the three of us.
As we noted in December after our first meeting, trilateral coordination and cooperation between our three countries is essential to addressing common challenges and advancing our shared interests in peace, security, and prosperity in the region and beyond.
Today once again, we have a wide-ranging agenda to cover. We will be closely coordinating and exchanging ideas on the next steps associated with North Korea. And we will discuss how to work together more closely in the ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit.
So I look forward to another full and productive meeting. Thank you.
