| From the left are Chung Suk-hwan, deputy minister for national defense policy, Randall Schriver, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs at the U.S.' defense department, Takeshi Ishikawa, deputy director-general defense policy bureau of Japan's defense ministry and Marc Knapper, U.S. acting deputy assistant secretary for Japan and Korean affairs. Yonhap |
By Jung Da-min
Senior defense officials from South Korea, the United States and Japan held talks in Seoul, Thursday, to discuss issues related to North Korea, including its launch of multiple projectiles last week, possibly including a short-range ballistic missile.
The 11th Defense Trilateral Talks (DTT), an annual meeting for discussions of regional security issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula came five days after North Korea conducted its “new” weapons test.
Representing Seoul, Washington and Tokyo were Chung Suk-hwan, deputy minister for national defense policy, Randall Schriver, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs at the U.S.' defense department and Takeshi Ishikawa, deputy director-general of the defense policy bureau of Japan's defense ministry, respectively. U.S. Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Japan and Korean Affairs Marc Knapper also attended the meeting.
The three nations discussed how to deal with the North's military move with a measured response while promoting denuclearization efforts on the Korean Peninsula to establish lasting peace, according to South Korean officials.
They have taken a cautious stance on the North's launch of “projectiles,” yet to confirm precisely what kind of weapons were tested by North Korea.
Ahead of the trilateral talks, South Korea held bilateral sessions with the U.S. and Japan at the defense ministry while the U.S. and Japan also held a bilateral session at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.
The bilateral talks between South Korea and Japan came at a time when their relations have soured following a series of “threatening” flights at low-altitudes by Japanese patrol aircrafts over Republic of Korea Navy ships. Military exchanges between the two countries have been on hold since February when the two governments were at odds over the issue.
The DTT is an annual forum launched in 2008 to serve as a venue for discussion of major regional security issues including North Korea issues.