Top uniformed officers of S. Korea, US, Japan reaffirm cooperation
Adm. Kim Myung Soo, chief of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Gen. Dan Caine and Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, met for the first time since South Korean President Lee Jae Myung took office in early June.
Yoshida's trip to South Korea marked the first by a chief of Japan's Joint Staff since 2010, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry.
"As the North Korean nuclear and missile threats continue to grow and security challenges persist in the region, it is crucial to maintain the momentum of ROK-U.S.-Japan security cooperation and further develop it," Kim said at the outset of their talks. ROK is an acronym for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.
Caine also stressed trilateral cooperation, noting the United States remains focused on reestablishing deterrence, given what he described as "an unprecedented military buildup" by North Korea and China.
Yoshida said the aim of his trip to Seoul was to ensure that trilateral defense cooperation remains resilient "regardless of political changes in each country" so that progress continues steadily.
On the same day, the three countries conducted a joint aerial exercise over international waters off South Korea's southern island of Jeju, marking the first deployment of a U.S. B-52H bomber to the Korean Peninsula this year, according to South Korea's Defense Ministry.
The exercise, which also involved South Korean KF-16 fighter jets and Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2 fighter jets, aims to enhance deterrence and response capabilities against North Korea's increasingly sophisticated nuclear and missile threats, the ministry said.
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