Seoul: The top military officer of the United States stressed the importance of security cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan to reestablish deterrence against an "unprecedented" military buildup by North Korea and China. Gen. Dan Caine, the chief of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), made the remark as he attended a trilateral meeting in Seoul with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Adm. Kim Myung-soo and Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Gen. Caine emphasized the necessity of trilateral cooperation between the three nations. He expressed concerns over the military developments in North Korea and China, stating that they pose significant challenges to regional security. Caine highlighted the importance of demonstrating resolve and maintaining proactive partnerships to ensure mutual understanding and trust among the nations' leaders.
Caine reflected on the evolution of trilateral cooperation, which has grown beyond focusing solely on North Korean threats to encompass broader security issues. He recalled former U.S. JCS chief Gen. Martin Dempsey's remarks in a 2014 trilateral meeting about evolving partnerships through persistent and regular engagement.
South Korea's Adm. Kim and Japan's Gen. Yoshida echoed Caine's call, emphasizing the importance of maintaining momentum in trilateral cooperation. Adm. Kim pointed out that the meeting in South Korea sends a message of stability to the Indo-Pacific region and the world, particularly amid advancing North Korean nuclear and missile threats.
Gen. Yoshida stressed the need for advancing and institutionalizing trilateral cooperation, advocating for increased unity among the three nations to strengthen deterrence against North Korea. The meeting in Seoul marks the first Trilateral Chiefs of Defense (Tri-Chod) meeting held in South Korea and follows a previous gathering in Tokyo last year.
During the meeting, the military leaders agreed to expand their trilateral multi-domain Freedom Edge exercise and condemned North Korea's continued nuclear and missile developments, as well as its growing military cooperation with Russia.