LIMA, Nov 16 (Bernama-Yonhap) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, United States (US) President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced the creation of a secretariat for trilateral cooperation, condemning
North Korea and Russia for escalating Moscow's war in Ukraine.
The leaders met Friday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Yonhap news agency reported.
At the last such gathering before Biden leaves office in January, the leaders reiterated their commitment to the trilateral partnership, which remains critical for countering regional security threats and fostering stability in the Indo-Pacific.
"Today, we announce the establishment of the Trilateral Secretariat, responsible for coordinating and implementing our shared commitments," the three leaders said in a joint statement.
"This new secretariat will seek to ensure that the work we do together further aligns our objectives and actions to make the Indo-Pacific a thriving, connected, resilient, stable and secure region," they added.
Touching on the planned launch of the secretariat, the leaders stressed that the partnership between the three countries is one that is "built to last."
The leaders also used the meeting to decry North Korea’s troop dispatch to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Seoul and Washington have confirmed that North Korean troops, deployed to Russia's western front-line Kursk region, have begun engaging in combat operations against Ukrainian forces.
"Japan, South Korea and the US strongly condemn the decisions by the leaders of North Korea and Russia to dangerously expand Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
"Deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including munitions and ballistic missile transfers, is particularly egregious given Russia’s status as a Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council," they said.
The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula."