US - Japan - South Korea cooperate to deal with threats from North Korea

(Baonghean.vn) - On February 10, at a meeting between top military officials from the US, South Korea and Japan, the three countries agreed to increase information sharing and coordinate security efforts to deal with North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.

An object was launched into the air from the territory of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on February 7. Photo taken from the Chinese border - Photo: Reuters

Marine General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, Chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, met in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Meanwhile, General Lee Sun-jin, Chairman of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, attended the three-way meeting via video conference.

Officials from the three countries issued a joint statement, calling North Korea's fourth nuclear test on January 6 and "long-range missile launch" on February 7 a direct violation of UN resolutions and "a serious provocation to the international community."

They said the agreements were aimed at countering the threat from Pyongyang, including "sharing information among the three sides" and "further coordination on security issues to promote peace and stability in the region."

US Navy Captain Greg Hicks - spokesman for General Dunford said this was the second meeting between defense officials of the three countries since July 2014.

The three officials are expected to meet again before the end of the year and consider increasing participation in military exercises and other activities to tighten security ties, a US official added.

On February 7, North Korea launched a long-range rocket to put a satellite into orbit. This move has been strongly condemned and criticized by the US and several other countries, claiming that this is an act to cover up the development of ballistic missile technology.

The United States and South Korea immediately announced that they would begin formal talks on deploying a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to the Korean Peninsula "at the earliest possible date."

Phuong Thao

(According to Reuters)