South Korea, U.S., Japan preparing response to growing DPRK-Russia military ties

The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States, and Japan have vowed to act together with the international community, acknowledging that the growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia poses a "serious threat" to peace and stability.

That’s according to Yonhap citing South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukrinform reports.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, S. Korea’s Foreign Minister Park Jin, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa reaffirmed the consensus during the trilateral talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco on Tuesday, as they are stepping up cooperation to address North Korean threats and other regional and global issues.

Intensified military cooperation between Russia and North Korea was among the top issues on their agenda.

The three top diplomats once again highlighted the fact that the deepening of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea poses a serious threat to international peace and stability outside the Korean Peninsula, and agreed to closely coordinate their efforts with the international community to respond to such actions by Moscow and Pyongyang, according to the report.

The parties also reaffirmed their willingness to step up efforts to block Pyongyang's illicit cyber activity, which it uses to finance its nuclear and missile development projects.

The talks came ahead of President Joe Biden’s much-anticipated summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco on Wednesday.