WASHINGTON: Japan, the United States and South Korea held a meeting of their top national security officials in Annapolis, Maryland, on Friday.

This was the first in-person meeting among high-level officials of the three countries since the launch of the administration of US President Joe Biden in January.

The talks were held among Shigeru Kitamura, secretary-general of Japan’s National Security Secretariat, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and South Korean national security adviser Suh Hoon. The US National Security Council said on Twitter that the three officials will discuss “continued stability” on the Korean Peninsula and “shared support” for the free and open Indo-Pacific vision.

The Biden administration, which is reviewing the US policy on North Korea, is aiming to strengthen the three countries’ cooperation over issues related to the reclusive nation.

Biden said late last month that he is “prepared for some form of diplomacy” for North Korea, hinting at Washington’s stance of not ruling out dialogue with Pyongyang.

But at the same time, he said that North Korea’s recent missile test was in violation of a related UN Security Council resolution, adding, “If they choose to escalate, we will respond accordingly.”

Some US experts are calling on the US administration to adopt an arms control approach that effectively tolerates North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons as the country is showing no signs of abandoning its nuclear program.

However, Ned Price, spokesman at the US Department of State, brushed aside such an idea, saying at a press conference on Thursday that denuclearization “will remain at the center of American policy toward North Korea.”

JIJI Press