Senior diplomats from Japan, the United States and South Korea agreed Wednesday to strengthen deterrence in reining in the North Korean military threat, amid fears that Pyongyang could carry out its seventh nuclear test soon.
Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori told reporters after a trilateral meeting in Tokyo that the three countries will never tolerate the nuclear blackmail employed by Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Mori, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong also expressed their opposition to any attempt to change the status quo in the East and South China seas, in a veiled criticism of China's assertive territorial claims and military buildup.