Senior diplomats from Japan, South Korea and the United States on Thursday affirmed closer cooperation to address the threat from North Korea after its firing of an intermediate-range solid-fuel ballistic missile last weekend.
During their meeting in Seoul, the officials also shared their "deep concern" over weapon transfers from North Korea to Russia, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, as Pyongyang and Moscow ramp up their military ties amid the latter's war in Ukraine.
The talks between Kim Gunn, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his Japanese and U.S. counterparts, Hiroyuki Namazu and Jung Pak, came after the North successfully test-fired a missile carrying a hypersonic warhead Sunday, its first such activity of the year.
On Monday, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un called for a constitutional change that would designate South Korea as a "primary foe and invariable principal enemy" when he spoke at a session of the Supreme People's Assembly, further fueling tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Pak said at the outset of the talks that the United States is deeply concerned by North Korea's "recent uptick in hostile rhetoric," particularly toward South Korea.
"Increased trilateral cooperation in recent years has been an important and positive development in our efforts to address the DPRK challenge," said Pak, referring to the acronym for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
The trilateral meeting also took place after North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui met her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday.
Lavrov told Choe that Russia is grateful for North Korea's support in the war against Ukraine, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
At the beginning of the Thursday talks, Kim Gunn said North Korea may be banking on its unlawful military cooperation with Russia, which "will only lead to a dead end."
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