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| ▲ This photo, provided by the South Korean Navy, shows South Korea, U.S. and Japanese warships conducting joint drills in international waters south of the Korean Peninsula on April 4, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
S Korea-US-Japan-defense talks
S. Korea, U.S., Japan to hold trilateral defense talks on N. Korean threats this week
SEOUL, April 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold the first session of a senior-level trilateral defense dialogue in three years in Washington later this week to discuss North Korean threats and other regional issues, Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday.
The Defense Trilateral Talks (DTT) is set to take place Friday (U.S. time). Since its last session in 2020, it had not been held due apparently to COVID-19 and historical tensions between Seoul and Tokyo.
South Korean Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Heo Tae-keun, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner and Japanese Director General for Defense Policy Kazuo Masuda will lead their respective delegations, according to the ministry.
"At the meeting, the three countries plan to have close discussions on North Korean nuclear and missile threats and regional security, and the direction of trilateral defense and military cooperation," the ministry said in a press release.
Its rare reference to three-way "military" cooperation -- as opposed to "security" cooperation -- appears to illustrate tightening collaboration between the Asian neighbors in the wake of Seoul's resolution to the thorny issue of compensation for victims of Japan's wartime forced labor, observers said.
At the upcoming gathering, the three sides are also expected to discuss ways to flesh out last year's summit agreement by their leaders to share missile warning data in real time to counter the North's nuclear and missile threats.
The meeting comes amid tensions heightened by the North's recent provocative moves, such as its purported tests of underwater nuclear attack drones and the unveiling of the Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warhead.
Since its launch in 2008, the three countries have held 12 DTT sessions.
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