Nat’l security advisers of S. Korea, Japan discuss N.K. threat

The national security advisers of South Korea and Japan agreed Friday on the need to strengthen solidarity with the international community in order to respond firmly to North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations, the presidential office said.

National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong and Japan’s National Security Secretariat Secretary General Takeo Akiba held talks in Seoul ahead of Saturday’s trilateral meeting with their U.S. counterpart, Jake Sullivan.

The two sides agreed that North Korea’s “unprecedented” provocations are posing a “serious threat” to peace and stability in the region and beyond, the presidential office said in a press release.

“They reaffirmed the need for South Korea-Japan and South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation, and the strengthening of solidarity within the international community, in order to firmly respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations,” it said.

North Korea successfully placed a military spy satellite into orbit last month, after two failed attempts earlier in the year.

Cho and Akiba also discussed bilateral relations, noting the seven summits between their leaders this year, and agreed to expand areas of cooperation to produce more tangible results for the two countries’ peoples, including in security and economic issues and people-to-people exchanges.

In a separate meeting later in the day, Cho and Sullivan shared their opinion that Seoul’s suspension of an inter-Korean military tension reduction accord was a carefully considered measure in response to Pyongyang’s repeated violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Last month, South Korea suspended part of the 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement that called for a series of military measures to reduce tensions along the border.

The two officials also reaffirmed that their countries remain open to dialogue with North Korea.

They expressed that the South Korea-U.S. alliance remains stronger than ever, and is a core pillar of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, pledging cooperation on Indo-Pacific strategies, new technologies and economic security, according to the presidential office.

President Yoon Suk Yeol later hosted a dinner at his official residence for the three national security advisers, the presidential officer said.

“South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation has become more important than before under a situation where armed conflicts are occurring at places in the world and the rule-based order is being threatened,” Yoon said during the meeting.

“I hope the agreements from (the trilateral summit at) Camp David could be smoothly implemented and this momentum can continue,” the president said, referring to his summit with President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in August.

During the meeting at Camp David, a U.S. presidential retreat, the leaders pledged to develop the trilateral partnership into a comprehensive cooperation mechanism.