Joint message from the US, South Korea, and Japan: 'Unity' against North Korea

Defense officials from the US, South Korea, and Japan reiterated their commitment to 'acting together to deter North Korea's increasing nuclear and missile threats' in a joint statement following their 15th trilateral meeting.

The US Department of Defense announced the joint statement from the trilateral talks between South Korea, the US, and Japan.

South Korean Deputy Minister of National Defense Cho Chang-rae, Acting US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Cara Abercrombie, and Director General of the Defense Policy Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Defense Yamato Taro met today in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

Discussing shared regional security concerns, the defense officials reiterated their commitment to strengthening trilateral security cooperation.

The officials expressed their satisfaction with the progress made by the three countries' national defense authorities in the year since the Camp David Summit and underscored that trilateral military exercises will continue.

The leaders of the US, South Korea, and Japan met at a trilateral summit in Camp David last year to address the threat posed by North Korea, and following the summit, they pledged to expand trilateral cooperation in various fields against security threats in the Pacific.

THEY CALLED ON NORTH KOREA

The parties underscored that they will continue trilateral cooperation to contribute to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region, and that they will act together to deter North Korea's increasing nuclear and missile threats.

Expressing serious concerns regarding the growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, the three officials condemned the Pyongyang administration's recent diversification of its nuclear weapons systems, multiple ballistic missile tests and launches, and other military activities.

The officials also called on Pyongyang to immediately cease 'all actions that destabilize the security of the Korean Peninsula and the region.'

The three defense officials also evaluated recent maritime and air military activities in the Indo-Pacific region, including the South China Sea, and addressed China's activities in the region.

The 16th trilateral meeting will be held in Japan in the first half of next year.

News Source: AA