S. Korea, U.S., Japan vow to strengthen cooperation against N.K. threat
Baku, December 9, AZERTAC
The national security advisers of South Korea, the United States and Japan vowed Saturday to strengthen cooperation against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats while also deepening their cooperation on supply chains, technology protection and other economic security issues, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The agreements were announced during a joint press briefing following trilateral talks between National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary General Takeo Akiba.
The meeting was held to follow up on agreements reached during a landmark trilateral summit involving President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David in August.
"We reaffirmed North Korea's obligation under U.N. Security Council resolutions to denuclearize and ban military cooperation, and agreed to strengthen cooperation among the three countries to secure the international community's strict implementation," Cho said at the briefing at the presidential office.
Cho said they also agreed to pursue trilateral security cooperation without delay, including through the real-time sharing of North Korean missile warning data and by drawing up multiyear plans for trilateral military exercises.
"In addition, we agreed to promptly and effectively push for follow-up measures to the Camp David agreements in the areas of cyber, economy, advanced technologies and development cooperation, and to further strengthen our comprehensive cooperation in the economic security field, such as on supply chains, technology protection, joint research and AI governance," he said.
Both Sullivan and Akiba said the three sides discussed North Korea's growing military cooperation with Russia. The deepening partnership between the two countries is suspected to have helped North Korea successfully place a military spy satellite into orbit last month after two failed attempts earlier in the year.
Akiba especially noted their agreement to strengthen trilateral cooperation against North Korea's illicit cyber activities that fund its nuclear and missile development.
Sullivan, meanwhile, outlined their joint commitment to working together on other regional and economic issues, including their efforts to finalize a new supply chain early warning system and launch joint global development projects.
"We will continue to stand together against economic coercion," he said. "And we will continue to stand up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and freedom of navigation in the East and South China seas."
Sullivan and Akiba expressed their thanks to Yoon for hosting them for dinner Friday.
Sullivan said he conveyed Biden's "warm greetings" and his personal commitment to the South Korea-U.S. alliance and the trilateral partnership among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.
Akiba said he also conveyed Kishida's strong commitment to further developing the South Korea-Japan relationship and the strategic cooperation among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.
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