US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that he shares “serious” concerns with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin about increased military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
Blinken and Park said they also discussed working together to implement the so-called Extended Deterrence Strategy, which counters the threat from North Korea and fosters strategic cooperation with Japan.
“Already, our three countries are taking steps to improve our joint response through real-time sharing of North Korean missile warning data, trilateral defense exercises, and efforts to counter North Korean malicious cyber activity. .”
DPRK, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is the official name of North Korea.
The United States, South Korea and Japan have condemned the flow of arms and military equipment from North Korea to Russia, citing evidence of the movement of cargo from the reclusive nation to Russia.
When North Korea and Russia met in Russia’s Far East in September, the leaders of both countries promised close military cooperation, but they have denied any arms deal.
President Park also said that after her meeting with Blinken, the two foreign ministers urged North Korea to cancel its plans to launch a reconnaissance satellite.
North Korea is preparing to launch a reconnaissance satellite after failing twice this year to put a satellite into orbit.
Last week, South Korea announced that North Korea was in the final stages of preparations for the launch, with the North apparently receiving technical assistance from Russia.
South Korea’s military announced on Monday that it was on alert after North Korea designated Nov. 18 as “Missile Industry Day” to commemorate last year’s intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
Blinken’s two-day visit to South Korea is the first by a US secretary of state in two and a half years, and is part of a broader tour of Asia that includes a visit to India. He was in the Middle East before Japan.