US,Japan and South Korea agree to keep up pressure on North Korea

The United States, South Korea and Japan agreed in high-level security talks Friday to work together to keep up pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. In a joint statement after a day of talks, U.S.President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and his Japanese counterpart, Shigeru Kitamura, and South Korea’s national security adviser Suh Hoon reaffirmed their commitment to address the issue through concerted trilateral cooperation towards denuclearization.

The three countries also agreed on the need for full implementation by the international community of U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Korea, preventing proliferation, and cooperating to strengthen deterrence and maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The statement said that, the national security advisers also discussed the value of working together to address other challenges such as COVID-19, climate change and promoting an immediate return to democracy in Myanmar. The talks held at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland,  against a backdrop of rising tensions after North Korean missile launches last week. The three officials were also expected to discuss a global shortage of semi-conductor chips that has forced U.S. automakers and other manufacturers to cut production.