WASHINGTON, DC: According to Voice of America, the United States of America, Japan and South Korea are “strongly against” any unilateral effort that may change the current state of affairs in the Indo-Pacific waters as well as have “strongly condemned” North Korea’s recent ballistic missile technology enabled launches.
The three country’s joint statement came after a meeting between US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell with Japan’s Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano and South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun in Little Washington, Virginia on Friday.
They agreed to work together closely on North Korea and other threats to regional and global stability by establishing a new coordinating body for greater alignment of their policies.
Kyodo quoted US Deputy Secretary of State Campbell who said ahead of the meeting at his farmhouse that envisaged body would likely be “secretariat type.”
The importance of “opposing unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea” was recognized by these allies who also emphasized on maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. There is no change in our basic positions on Taiwan, and we call for peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues,” read their joint statement.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised an artillery demonstration drill with super large multiple rocket launchers aimed at South Korea, Pyongyang state media has said on Friday.
This development comes a day after South Korea said North Korea fired approximately 10 short range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Thursday, and days after an unsuccessful satellite rocket launch by Pyongyang.
Despite criticism from key regional allies such as US-Japan-South-Korea alliance, USA etc., North Korea still pursues its nuclear arms programs including ballistic missile systems among others.
On May 27th and 29th the United States condemned what it called North Korean missile test fires using ballistic missile technology which according to Washington was “in direct violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs).”
“[A] grave threat to the Korean Peninsula, the region and international peace and security and undermine the global non-proliferation regime” is how US State Department described these launches as still continuing North Korea’s “reckless behavior.”
Meanwhile, according to a statement from State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, the US and Japan have stressed that it would be important to develop “a new era of strategic global cooperation” between Washington and Tokyo.
Campbell also met Japanese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Okano Masataka in Washington, DC with USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman during the first U.S.-Japan Strategic Diplomacy & Development Dialogue on Friday.
During his visit to Washington DC on April 10th US President Joe Biden together with Prime Minister Kishida had announced the Dialogue.
Both countries solidified their commitments in working with developing partners. Also they emphasized quality infrastructure as well as sustainability for driving economic prosperity for all.
