PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – United States President Joe Biden said on Sunday that his country, Japan and South Korea were “more aligned than ever” on North Korea, which he added has continued its “provocative behaviour”.
Speaking in Cambodia after a trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Biden called their countries “critical allies” that share the United States’ concerns about North Korea’s missile tests.
South Korea’s Yoon said the North’s recent provocations showed its regime’s “nature against humanitarianism”, while Japan’s Kishida said its actions were “unprecedented” and more provocations could be expected from Pyongyang.
“This trilateral summit is timely given we are expecting further provocation,” Kishida said in opening remarks at the three-way meeting.
“I look forward to strengthening the coordination between the U.S., South Korea, and Japan to respond firmly” to North Korea’s actions, he added.
Biden said he also discussed with them expanding coordinated support for Ukraine in the war with Russia, maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and working towards “common goals of a free and open Indo-Pacific”.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Phnom Penh, Soo-hyang Choi and Ju-min Parkin Seoul and Sakura Murakami in Tokyo; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Martin Petty)
