SEOUL (Reuters) – The national security advisers of the United States, South Korea and Japan are holding a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Saturday, according to South Korea’s presidential office, as Pyongyang warned of more spy satellites.
The trilateral cooperation has become more important as the rule-based order faces a threat around the world, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said at a dinner meeting with the security advisors on Friday, Yoon’s office said in a statement.
North Korean state media said Pyongyang was determined to launch more spy satellites soon, calling space development its right to defend itself.
Washington has to focus more on deterrence while working with its allies, U.S. Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said on Thursday.
“I am worried that North Korea, in the current environment, has decided that they are no longer interested in diplomacy with the United States,” Campbell said.
Seoul’s national security adviser, Cho Tae-yong held bilateral talks with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Japan’s Takeo Akiba on Friday, where they agreed to boost cooperation to curb North Korea’s nuclear threat and missile provocations, Yoon’s office said.
The meetings come as a follow-up to the Camp David Summit earlier this year hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden for Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korea’s Yoon.
The security advisors of the three countries previously met in Tokyo in June.
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Chris Reese)
