Seoul: The top military officer of the United States emphasized the critical need for security cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan to counter an unprecedented military expansion by North Korea and China. Gen. Dan Caine, the chief of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, highlighted this during 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 underscored the importance of reestablishing deterrence through trilateral cooperation among the three countries. He expressed concerns over the military buildup in North Korea and China, noting their clear intent to progress their own agendas. Caine urged for proactive partnerships and emphasized the need for mutual trust and understanding between the nations' leaders to ensure readiness and unity.
Caine reflected on the evolution of trilateral cooperation, which has expanded beyond focusing solely on North Korean threats to addressing broader security concerns. He recalled remarks from former U.S. JCS chief Gen. Martin Dempsey in a 2014 trilateral meeting, suggesting that the partnerships should evolve through consistent engagement and shared responsibility.
Adm. Kim and Gen. Yoshida supported Caine's call for maintaining the momentum of trilateral cooperation. Kim highlighted the significance of the meeting taking place in South Korea and its demonstration of stable security cooperation to the Indo-Pacific region. He stressed the importance of continuous development of the trilateral collaboration amidst advancing North Korean threats and regional security challenges.
Gen. Yoshida advocated for the institutionalization of trilateral cooperation, regardless of political situations in each country, and called for strengthening deterrence against North Korea by enhancing unity among the three nations.
The meeting marked the first Trilateral Chiefs of Defense (Tri-Chod) meeting held in Seoul and Caine's first visit to South Korea as the highest-ranking U.S. military officer since November 2023. The previous Tri-Chod gathering was held in Tokyo, attended by Kim, Brown, and Yoshida. During the meeting, the military leaders agreed to expand their trilateral multi-domain Freedom Edge exercise and criticized North Korea's ongoing nuclear and missile developments, as well as its increasing military cooperation with Russia.