A pledge among top national security officials from the US, South Korea, and Japan has been made to deepen their security cooperation and jointly respond to North Korea’s cyber activities, which it uses to bolster funding for its sanctioned nuclear and missile programs, a Bloomberg report said.
According to the security leaders from the US, South Korea, and Japan, a new trilateral agreement is being sought to respond to North Korea’s military threats as well as cyber crimes and cryptocurrency money laundering. Jake Sullivan of the US, Takeo Akiba of Japan and Cho Tae-yong of South Korea are among the officials in attendance at a meeting in Seoul, according to Yonhap. At the meeting, the three officials reaffirmed North Korea’s obligations to cease its nuclear programs. They said they are implementing plans about missile launches from adversaries in the region.
A White House statement last week cited discussions on “emerging threats, including the concerning developments related to weapons transfers between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Russia.”
The three countries had condemned North Korea’s Nov. 21 rocket launch that put a spy satellite in orbit. Seoul officials expect the technology to be rudimentary. However, it may help Kim Jong Un’s regime to target US troops stationed in South Korea and Japan.
According to Bloomberg, the US and South Korea have accused Kim of sending munitions to Russian President Vladimir Putin to help him in his war on Ukraine. During a visit to Seoul in November, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Moscow is believed to have returned the favor by providing technology and support for Kim’s military programs.
In August, the leaders of the three nations held a summit at the Camp David US presidential retreat, where they formed plans to counter threats by North Korea as well as measures to de-risk global supply chains from exposure to China and moves to set in stone a trilateral agreement.
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