South Korea, Japan Reaffirm Three-Way Cooperation With US For Regional Peace

(MENAFN- IANS) Seoul, Sep 8 (IANS) Senior defence officials of South Korea and Japan reaffirmed Tuesday that their trilateral cooperation with the United States is vital to ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and beyond, also pledging continued efforts to expand defence exchanges.

South Korea's Vice Defence Minister Lee Doo-hee shared the view with his Japanese counterpart, Atsushi Ando, during their talks on the margins of the Seoul Defence Dialogue, Seoul's defence ministry said in a release.

"Both sides agreed that bilateral and trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the US is crucial for maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and across the region," the ministry said, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"The two sides agreed to maintain communication and ongoing efforts to foster stable, mutually beneficial and forward-looking defence exchanges based on mutual understanding and trust," it added.

Ando was attending the forum in place of Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who skipped the event after his visit to a controversial wartime shrine in Tokyo, seen as a symbol of Japan's imperialistic past, drew criticism from Seoul and other neighbouring countries.

In a separate meeting with Janne Kuusela, Finland's permanent secretary of defence, Lee shared South Korea's assessment of the shifting global security landscape and discussed ways to enhance bilateral defence cooperation amid the growing security links between Europe and the Indo-Pacific, the ministry said.

The two sides also agreed to expand cooperation in defence, science and technology, and the defence industry, building on existing partnerships, including the K9 self-propelled howitzer project.

Lee also met separately with Malaysian Secretary General of Defence Lokman Hakim Bin Ali and Singapore's Minister of State for Defence Desmond Choo, and discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation in defence and arms manufacturing, among others, the defence ministry said.

The Seoul Defence Dialogue (SDD) is being held under the theme "Toward a new coexistence in the age of turbulence," according to South Korea's defence ministry.

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