[Provisional Translation]
[Press Release]
December 19, 2023
Ministry of Defense
Defense officials from Japan, the United States (U.S.) and the Republic of Korea (ROK), virtually held a Director General level meeting on Tuesday, December 19.
Japan Director General for Defense Policy Mr. Kano Koji, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Dr. Ely Ratner, and ROK Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Dr. Heo Tae-keun discussed the situation of North Korea, including the latest launches and strongly condemned the series of activities by North Korea, including the repeated launches of ballistic missiles and others, as it threatens the peace and stability of the region and the international community.
The representatives emphasized the significance of those initiatives that they fully activated a real-time DPRK missile warning data sharing mechanism and jointly established a multi-year trilateral exercise plan, which were announced today in the U.S.-Japan-ROK Trilateral Ministerial Joint Press Statement.
The representatives reaffirmed that the trilateral collaboration by Japan, the U.S. and ROK is indispensable for the regional peace and stability and they continue to further deepen the trilateral cooperation.