11-07-2025
S. Korea, US, Japan stress security partnership amid N. Korean nuclear threat
Top military chiefs of Korea, US and Japan meet in Seoul for first trilateral talks held in Korea
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.
