U.S., Japan, South Korea reaffirm commitment to deter North Korea

Sept. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. Special Representative for North Korea policy Sung Kim on Wednesday reaffirmed the United States' commitment to its alliance with Japan and South Korea to deter and defend against North Korea.

According to a U.S. Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs tweet, "Special Representative Sung Kim met with ROK and Japanese counterparts to discuss how to address DPRK's ballistic missile and WMD programs."

The tweet said, "The United States places great importance on trilateral cooperation and is committed to defense and deterrence to protect our allies."

Kim met with Takehiro Funakoshi, director general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at Japan's Foreign Ministry and South Korea Special Representative Kim Gunn to reinforce the trilateral commitment to maintain a united front and deterrence toward North Korea.

Kim underscored the importance of denuclearization of North Korea.

According to Kyodo News, the senior diplomats vowed at their trilateral meeting to take "specific steps" if North Korea performs a nuclear weapon test. They did not publicly elaborate on what steps would be taken.

The diplomats agreed that if North Korea sends weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine that would violate United Nations resolutions.