Yonhap News Agency reported that South Korea, the United States and Japan have agreed to periodically conduct anti-missile and anti-submarine defense exercises to counter rising North Korean threats.
And South Korea’s defense ministry said the agreement was reached in Tripartite Defense Talks (DTT) on Saturday amid tensions over Pyongyang’s recent weapons tests, including the Hwaseong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile, which were conducted last Thursday.
“The three sides discussed organizing missile defense exercises and anti-submarine maneuvers to deter and respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,” the joint statement said.
Ways were also discussed to resume trilateral exercises, including naval maneuvers and anti-piracy exercises, in order to maintain peace and stability in the region.
Seoul, Tokyo and Washington condemned what they called “North Korea’s repeated violations of UN Security Council resolutions, its nuclear and missile provocations and illegal ship transfers.”
In a statement, the trilateral alliance stressed that any nuclear test by North Korea would be met with a “strong and firm” response from the international community, noting that “the path of dialogue remains open to finding a peaceful diplomatic solution with Pyongyang and urged it to return to negotiations.”
The three parties agreed to hold the next session of the DTT alliance in Seoul, with a date to be determined next year.
Source: Yonhap