The vice foreign ministers of Japan, the United States and South Korea have condemned North Korea for escalating tensions in the Korean Peninsula and agreed that the three countries will work closely to deter such behavior.
Japan’s Vice Foreign Minister Okano Masataka, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and South Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun attended the talks held in Seoul on Wednesday.
The North this month accused the South of sending drones into the skies of Pyongyang to drop flyers and has threatened to retaliate. The three diplomats exchanged views on how to respond to North Korea.
In a joint news conference, Kim said they condemn North Korea’s deliberate acts of fomenting tension.
He added they agreed to strengthen security cooperation under close trilateral coordination with the US and Japan.
Campbell said they were able to conduct a “deep and sustained review” of the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
He added the US wants to commend South Korea for the “steady, careful, measured and statesman-like approach” it has taken toward repeated provocations by North Korea.
Ahead of the talks, South Korean foreign ministry announced that it will launch a multilateral team to monitor UN sanctions on North Korea, as the UN monitoring panel was terminated in April.
The mechanism will consist of 11 nations, including South Korea, Japan, the US, Britain and France, and will check for violations and evasions of the sanctions to ensure they are working.