Tripartite Call Among South Korea, US, and Japan Defense Officials: "North Korea's Missile Launch, a Serious Provocation"

Heo Tae-geun, Ministry of National Defense Director-General; Ely Ratner, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense; Masuda Kazuo, Director of Japan's Defense Ministry Talk
"The more North Korea provokes, the stronger the trilateral security cooperation will become"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Senior defense officials from Korea, the United States, and Japan held a trilateral phone call to discuss a joint response to North Korea's missile provocations.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 7th, the senior officials participating in the call included Heo Tae-geun, Director General of Defense Policy at the Ministry of National Defense, Ely Ratner, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, and Masuda Kazuo, Director of Defense Policy Bureau at Japan's Ministry of Defense.

The three countries' officials strongly condemned North Korea's recent consecutive missile launches as a clear violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions and a serious provocation that gravely threatens peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community.

They also evaluated that the trilateral anti-submarine warfare exercises and maritime missile defense drills conducted during the deployment of the U.S. carrier strike group have enhanced the three countries' capabilities to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, which are becoming a substantial threat. They emphasized that the more North Korea provokes, the stronger the security cooperation among the three parties will become.

The representatives of Korea, the United States, and Japan reaffirmed the importance of trilateral security cooperation to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats through this consultation and agreed to continue exploring additional cooperation measures.

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