WASHINGTON: Senior Japanese, U.S. and Chinese diplomats met near Washington on Friday and issued a joint statement criticizing North Korea’s recent missile and satellite launches.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister OKANA Masataka, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Kim Hong-kyun, South Korea’s first vice minister of foreign affairs, “strongly condemned” the launches using ballistic missile technology in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Also on Friday, the Security Council held an emergency meeting on the reclusive country’s failed launch of a military reconnaissance satellite on Monday, with many member countries including Japan and the United States condemning the action. However, North Korean representative Kim Song said that his country will openly continue satellite launches.

During the vice-ministerial talks, held at Campbell’s villa, the Japanese, U.S. and South Korean officials shared concerns about deepening ties between North Korea and Russia, including arms transfers from the former to the latter.

Campbell promised that the United States will strengthen its extended deterrence, including its nuclear umbrella for Japan and South Korea.

“Our trilateral partnership is essential to the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific,” the three said in the joint statement.

With China’s hegemonic moves in mind, they said, “We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific and recognize the importance of opposing unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea.”

“We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community,” they noted. “There is no change in our basic positions on Taiwan, and we call for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.”

The three officials also vowed to boost cooperation on critical and emerging technologies.

They will meet again later this year in Seoul, while the three countries’ leaders are expected to hold a trilateral summit as early as July.

Campbell told reporters before Friday’s meeting that holding the trilateral summit is a top priority for this year, indicating that the three governments will accelerate coordination for the event.

JIJI Press