The president of USA, Joe Bidenhas highlighted the importance of cooperation between South Korea, Japan and USAin response to the “dangerous and destabilizing cooperation of North Korea with Russia“. It came after it was confirmed that North Korean troops have begun participating in combat operations alongside the Russian Armed Forces. against the ukrainians.
“I am proud of how far we have come in promoting development in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, joining forces to ensure the technologies of the future and counteracting the dangerous and destabilizing cooperation of North Korea with Russia,” said the president within the framework of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) in Lime (Peru).
Biden has stressed that he “sincerely” believes that cooperation between the three countries “will be the basis of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific for many years.” “This is likely to be my last trilateral meeting with this important group, but I am proud to have contributed to building this alliance, which I believe is built to last. That is my hope and expectation,” he added.
“Fifteen months ago, we held the first summit of leaders of our three countries at Camp David in the United States, inaugurating a new era of cooperation between our three countries. And it was part of a much larger effort over the past four years to rally America’s allies in the Pacific,” he explained.
Response from South Korea and Japan
For his part, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has stated that the meeting of the three leaders “demonstrates the firm commitment of the three countries to continue developing cooperation”.
He has also emphasized cooperation between Russia and North Korea: “As we can see with the recent deployment of DPRK (North Korea) troops to Russia, the challenging security environment inside and outside the region reminds us of a time plus the importance of our trilateral cooperation“.
“The trilateral secretariat that will be put in place as a result of the meeting will be a solid foundation that will lead to even greater cooperation between our three nations,” he added. Likewise, the Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba, has highlighted that these alliances are “essential to guarantee peace and stability in the region”.
“To respond effectively to increasingly complex international challenges, our trilateral partnership has become more important than ever“, he maintained, specifying that it is especially significant “in terms of security.”
South Korean intelligence estimates that at least part of the North Korean military sent to Russia They are already deployed in combat zones with the Ukrainian forces, although this would not necessarily imply their entry into Ukraine because there is also an open front in the Russian region of Kursk.