The U.S., Japan and South Korea will resume joint military drills in response to the recent spate of North Korean missile tests, the nations' defense chiefs said Saturday,
asia.nikkei.com reports.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, South Korean Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-Sup and Japanese Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi agreed to hold the exercises after meeting in Singapore on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit.
This was the first face-to-face meeting between the defense chiefs from the three nations since November 2019 and lasted 45 minutes.
Newly elected South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol seeks to improve ties with Japan, making the meeting possible.
The ministers "shared their deep concerns about [North Korea's] weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, which pose a grave threat to international peace and stability," according to a joint statement issued after the meeting.
They "shared the recognition that defense-related confidence building among countries in the region is important and committed to strengthening cooperation," the statement said.
The three nations held six joint drills over 2016 and 2017 that included sharing information on ballistic missiles. But these efforts stopped in December 2017 when relations between Tokyo and Seoul soured.
With the renewed cooperation, the partners agreed to hold missile warning and ballistic missile search and tracking exercises.
China's growing military strength was also addressed, with the statement saying they "emphasized the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," marking the first mention of Taiwan collectively by the trio, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry.
As for the Indo-Pacific region, they "expressed strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to alter the status quo and increase tensions."
