S. Korea, US, Japan stress security partnership amid N. Korean nuclear threat
The top military officers of South Korea, the United States and Japan met in Seoul on Thursday for their annual trilateral meeting, emphasizing the importance of security cooperation, particularly in the face of North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats.
Held for the first time in South Korea, the 22nd Trilateral Chiefs of Defense (Tri-CHOD) meeting brought together South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Kim Myung-soo, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Daniel Caine, and Japan's Chief of Staff Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida at the JCS headquarters in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul.
The three sides assessed the evolving security threats on the Korean Peninsula and in the broader Indo-Pacific region, with a particular focus on North Korea's escalating nuclear and missile capabilities.
In his opening remarks, Kim said the decision to rotate the Tri-CHOD venue to Seoul reflects the institutionalization and growing maturity of trilateral security cooperation.
"It is a significant milestone that today's meeting is being held in Korea for the first time since the summit at Camp David last year," Kim said, referring to the agreement between the three leaders in August 2023 to strengthen defense ties.
Kim also noted that Yoshida's visit was the first by a Japanese chief of staff in 15 years, a sign of deepening trilateral trust.
Caine, who took office in April, recalled the first Tri-CHOD meeting in Hawaii in 2014, emphasizing that the defense partnership has since evolved from coordination on North Korean threats to broader multilateral deterrence.
"This is an incredibly delicate chapter in our nations' histories," he said, stressing the need to demonstrate resolve amid "unprecedented military buildups" by North Korea and China.
Yoshida said he came to Korea with three goals: institutionalizing cooperation that is resilient amid political change, strengthening deterrence against North Korea, and expanding the trilateral role in regional peace and stability.
"As the Indo-Pacific becomes more volatile and ambiguous, our cooperation must become the core axis of peace in the region," he said.
The three commanders also raised concerns over broader regional threats, with Caine noting that "North Korea and China are undergoing an unprecedented military buildup with a clear and unambiguous intent to move forward with their own agendas."
The three commanders jointly condemned North Korea's ongoing weapons development and reaffirmed their commitment to its complete denuclearization under UN Security Council resolutions.
They also shared concerns over Pyongyang's support for Russia's war in Ukraine and the military tech transfers it may be receiving in return.
In parallel with the talks, the three countries conducted a joint aerial drill south of Jeju Island on the same day. The US deployed a B-52H strategic bomber, joined by South Korea's KF-16 and Japan's F-2 fighters.
This marked the first deployment of a B-52H to the Korean Peninsula this year and followed a previous trilateral drill held in June without a strategic bomber.
"This exercise aimed to strengthen trilateral deterrence and response capabilities against North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats," South Korea's Defense Ministry said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
Senior diplomats of Korea, US, Japan to hold talks in Japan this week
Vice foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold trilateral talks this week to discuss ways of further enhancing cooperation on North Korean issues and economic security, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi are scheduled to meet in Japan on Friday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The upcoming talks come about nine months after their last meeting held in Seoul in October. It also marks the first since the inauguration of President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump's new administration. "The three sides plan to hold broad and in-depth discussions on a wide range of topics, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula, regional dynamics, economic security, technology, energy and ways to enhance trilateral cooperation," the ministry said in a press release. Park plans to hold one-on-one talks with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of the trilateral meeting, it said. During the October meeting, the three nations condemned North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and agreed to strengthen their security cooperation. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
Ex-US diplomat alleging vote fraud in S. Korea barred from meeting Yoon Suk Yeol
A special counsel team looking into detained ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol's alleged insurrection blocked Morse Tan, former US ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, from visiting Yoon's cell on the outskirts of Seoul on Wednesday. Tan is now embroiled in a controversy here for his claims about election rigging in South Korea and about incumbent liberal President Lee Jae Myung. With the special counsel team's measures effective starting Tuesday, Yoon has been barred from meeting anyone other than family or lawyers. He will remain behind bars until his indictment, assistant special counsel Park Ji-young told reporters Wednesday, indicating that Tan would not be an exception to the measures. Yoon is being detained at Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, as he was rearrested last week while the special counsel probe into his Dec. 3, 2024, insurrection is underway. Park's statement was in response to an announcement by Yoon's legal team on Tuesday that Tan would visit the prison and meet Yoon for about 10 minutes Wednesday afternoon, upon Tan's request. Following the special counsel's briefing, Yoon's legal representatives admitted that the planned meeting of Yoon and Tan "fell through." Tan arrived in South Korea on Monday and was greeted by scores of Yoon's sympathizers at Incheon Airport. Tan's visit came at the invitation of the Seoul Metropolitan Government to deliver a speech at a forum on North Korean human rights on Tuesday. As controversy grew, the Seoul city government canceled his speech. He was also scheduled to deliver a special lecture at Seoul National University on Tuesday afternoon, in a session hosted by a far-right group. Seoul National University, however, disallowed the event to take place at a prearranged campus venue. Instead, the organizer moved the event outside near the campus' front gate. Tan, who served as the first Asian American ambassador-at-large in US history and was formerly dean of Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, Virginia, has claimed that elections in South Korea, including the recent presidential election in June, were being rigged due to China's influence. "What they could not completely win with bullets, they're using weapons like fake ballots," Tan said at the outdoor event near the Seoul National University campus Tuesday. "President Yoon saw the dangers from the Chinese Communist Party and from North Korea and the dangers of fraudulently stolen elections." Tan also repeated a baseless claim of President Lee Jae Myung having been involved in the sexual assault and murder of a young woman, which prevented him from completing his secondary education. The claim, originally made at a press event in June at the National Press Club in Washington, has been disproven in a South Korean court. In the same press event, Tan alleged that South Korea's National Election Commission attacked people who tried to raise questions about the possibility of election fraud.
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
Ex-US diplomat alleging vote fraud in S. Korea barred from meeting Yoon
A special counsel team looking into detained ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol's alleged insurrection blocked Morse Tan, former US ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, from visiting Yoon's cell on the outskirts of Seoul on Wednesday. Tan is now embroiled in a controversy here for his claims about election rigging in South Korea and about incumbent liberal President Lee Jae Myung. With the special counsel team's measures effective starting Tuesday, Yoon has been barred from meeting anyone other than his family or lawyers. He will remain barred until his indictment, assistant special counsel Park Ji-young told reporters Wednesday, indicating that Tan would be no exception to the measures. Yoon is currently detained at Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, as he was rearrested last week while the special counsel probe into his December 3 insurrection is underway. Park's statement was in response to an announcement by Yoon's legal team on Tuesday that Tan would visit the prison and meet Yoon for about 10 minutes Wednesday afternoon, upon Tan's request. Following the special counsel's briefing, Yoon's legal representatives admitted that the planned meeting of Yoon and Tan "fell through." Tan arrived in South Korea on Monday and was greeted by scores of Yoon's sympathizers at Incheon Airport. Tan's visit came at the invitation of the Seoul Metropolitan Government to deliver a speech at a forum on North Korean human rights on Tuesday. As controversy grew, the Seoul municipal government canceled his speech. He was also scheduled to deliver a special lecture at Seoul National University on Tuesday afternoon, in a session hosted by a far-right group. The Seoul National University, however, disallowed the event to take place at a prearranged campus venue. Instead, the organizer moved the event outside near the campus' front gate. Tan, who served as the first Asian-American ambassador at large in US history and was formerly a dean of Liberty University School of Law, has claimed that elections in South Korea, including the recent presidential election in June, were being rigged due to China's influence. "What they could not completely win with bullets, they're using weapons like fake ballots," Tan said at the outdoor event near the Seoul National University campus Tuesday. "President Yoon saw the dangers from the Chinese Communist Party and from North Korea and the dangers of fraudulently stolen elections." Tan also repeated a baseless claim about the incumbent President Lee being involved in the sexual assault and murder of a young woman, which prevented him from completing his secondary education. The claim, originally made at a press event in June at the National Press Club in Washington, has been disproven by a South Korean court. In the same press event, Tan alleged that South Korea's National Election Commission attacked people who tried to raise questions about the possibility of election fraud.
