Defense ministers from Japan, the United States, and South Korea met in Singapore to strongly condemn North Korea for its repeated ballistic missile launches and agreed to resume joint training to deal with it.
Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, US Secretary of Defense Austin, and South Korean Defense Minister Jongseob Lee met in Singapore on the afternoon of the 11th.
This is the first meeting between the defense ministers of Japan, the United States and South Korea since the inauguration of the new South Korean government last month, and the first meeting in about two and a half years since November 2019.
In a joint statement released after the meeting, ministers of the three countries shared concerns that the development of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles was a serious threat to international peace and stability, and repeated ballistic missiles. The launch was strongly condemned as a clear violation of the UN Security Council resolution.
They agreed to resume joint training by the Self-Defense Forces, the US Army, and the Korean Army to deal with ballistic missile launches, which had not been conducted since December 2017.
He also tried to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific region with China in mind, strongly opposed any action that heightened tensions, and emphasized the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
This is the first time that Taiwan has been included in the joint statement of the talks by the defense ministers of the three countries.
Meanwhile, Austin reaffirmed his involvement in the alliance with Japan and South Korea, backed by America's nuclear capabilities, and the three agreed to continue to work closely together.