US meets with South Korea, Japan to discuss approach to North Korea

President Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with representatives from Japan and South Korea to discuss an array of issues including North Korea, COVID-19, climate change and the situation in Myanmar.

Sullivan met with South Korea’s national security adviser Suh Hoon and Japan’s National Security Secretariat Secretary General Shigeru Kitamura at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland.

In a joint statement released by the White House, the three advisers underscored their commitment to discussing an approach to North Korea.

“The national security advisors shared their concerns about North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and reaffirmed their commitment to address and resolve these issues through concerted trilateral cooperation towards denuclearization,” the statement read.

North Korea has recently conducted its first missile test in over a year, firing two ballistic missiles into the East Sea.

Pyongyang has come out against speaking to the Biden administration about denuclearization until the U.S. stops what it claims are “hostile policies” against North Korea.

The meeting at the Naval Academy also underscored the goal to have United Nations Security Council resolutions aimed at stalling proliferation and keeping peace on the Korean peninsula.

“The United States reaffirmed its steadfast alliance commitments to both the ROK and Japan; Japan and the ROK underscored the importance of their bilateral ties and trilateral cooperation to the security of our citizens, the region, and the world,” the joint U.S.-Japan-South Korea statement read.

The U.S. met with both South Korea and Japan separately in their countries last month as tensions continue to rise in the Indo-Pacific region.

Along with security concerns, the countries also discussed COVID-19, climate change and the military coup in Myanmar along with the need to promote democracy in that country.