(Bloomberg) -- The U.S., Japan, and South Korea sounded alarm over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, following a series of short-range rocket tests last month signaling fresh provocation from Pyongyang.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan hosted his Japanese and South Korean counterparts for talks at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and the trio said in a joint readout that it was “imperative” for North Korea to fully comply with UN Security Council resolutions.
“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,” they said in the statement.
Ahead of the talks, a U.S. official said Sullivan would use the meeting to lay out the Biden administration's emerging strategy toward North Korea after the president warned of “responses” if North Korea continued to escalate after the resumption of missile launches.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga plans to visit Washington for Biden's first in-person meeting as president with a head of state.
Officials from the three countries also discussed challenges including the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, and the coup in Myanmar, according to the statement.
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