U.S., JAPAN, SOKOR WORRIED OVER NOKOR NUKE PROGRAM

The United States, Japan and South Korea on Friday shared their concerns about North Korea's nuclear and missile programs and vowed "concerted" cooperation toward denuclearization in the first gathering of their security advisers under the new U.S. administration, according to a Kyodo News report

The United States also reaffirmed its "steadfast" alliance commitments to Japan and South Korea, while the two Asian countries, whose relations have been increasingly fraught, underscored the importance of their bilateral ties and trilateral cooperation to the security of the region, according to a joint press statement.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, who took office in January, is in the final stages of its North Korea policy review, while it has also been eager to see improved communications between Tokyo and Seoul.

The trilateral meeting took place among U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts Shigeru Kitamura and Suh Hoon at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

The joint statement released after the meeting highlighted the countries' commitment to work on North Korean issues "through concerted trilateral cooperation towards denuclearization."

They also agreed on the need for full implementation of U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions by the international community and cooperating to strengthen deterrence and maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The Japanese government said in a separate statement that it also won support from the United States and South Korea for a swift resolution of North Korea's past abductions of Japanese nationals.

U.S. administrations have long sought to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions, with Biden's predecessor Donald Trump engaging in unprecedented summit diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In contrast to Trump's go-it-alone approach to foreign policy and his unpredictable leadership style, the Biden administration has vowed to work in close consultation with key U.S. allies in Asia on issues related to North Korea.

Meanwhile, the relationship between Japan and South Korea has sunk to its lowest point in decades following South Korean Supreme Court rulings in 2018 that ordered Japanese companies to compensate groups of South Koreans for forced labor during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Trump had shown little concern about Japan-South Korea ties, which deteriorated during his four-year tenure that ended in January this year. He had also played down concerns over North Korea's short-range missile tests apparently for the sake of the engagement process, distancing himself from Japan's position which views not only long-range missiles but also shorter-range missile types as posing threats.

North Korea has not tested any intercontinental ballistic missiles or nuclear devices since 2017. But the country is believed to have continued honing its military capabilities, such as through the test-firing of short-range missiles.

On March 25, North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, the first such launch during the Biden administration. The Biden administration has called the move a violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions banning Pyongyang from using ballistic technology.

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