▲ Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho (L) and his Japanese counterpart, Koichiro Nakajima, pose for a photo during their meeting at the defense ministry in Seoul on Nov. 8, 2024, in this photo provided by Kim's office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

S Korea-Japan-defense talks

S. Korea, Japan agree to closely cooperate to halt N.K.-Russia military cooperation

SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- The vice defense chiefs of South Korea and Japan on Friday condemned North Korea and Russia's deepening military cooperation and discussed ways to jointly respond to it, the South's defense ministry said.

In the talks held in Seoul, Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho and his Japanese counterpart, Koichiro Nakajima, expressed grave concerns over military cooperation by Pyongyang and Moscow, and agreed to closely work together to curb their cooperation, the ministry said.

Both sides concurred that security cooperation between South Korea and Japan, as well as trilateral cooperation also involving the United States, was "more important than ever" at a time when the North has advanced its nuclear and missile programs.

The meeting came on the heels of a U.S. confirmation that as many as 10,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia's western front-line Kursk region. North Korea fired a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile last week, the first such launch in about one year.

Friday's talks was organized as a follow-up measure to a ministerial meeting between Seoul and Tokyo's defense chiefs in Singapore in June, where both sides agreed to host regular vice ministerial meetings in efforts to boost defense cooperation.

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