Joint statement calls on North Korea to immediately cease all destabilizing activities

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo hold drills to counter Pyongyang threats

U.S. bombers and South Korean fighter jets during a joint air exercise. A.B

South Korea, Japan, and the United States have agreed to conduct regular missile defense and antisubmarine exercises to counter growing North Korean threats.

South Korea's Defense Ministry announced in a statement the agreement to hold the drills at the trilateral defense talks session, amid tensions caused by recent weapons tests by Pyongyang, including a test purporting to be the launch of the Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile two days ago.

"Representatives of the three countries decided to conduct missile defense and anti-submarine exercises on a regular basis to deter and respond to nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea, and held consultations on ways to resume trilateral exercise programs, including maritime interdiction exercises and anti-piracy operations," the ministry said in the statement.

The three countries issued a joint statement saying that representatives of the three countries urged North Korea to immediately cease all destabilizing activities and reaffirmed that any North Korean nuclear test, if conducted, would be met with a strong and firm response from the international community.

The foreign ministers of South Korea and France condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missile launch, and the South Korean Foreign Ministry said that Minister Park Jin and his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, held a session of the bilateral strategic dialogue in Seoul, and the two sides condemned North Korea's threat to use nuclear weapons, stressed the need for a decisive and unified reaction from the international community, and reaffirmed their common goal of the complete and irreversible disarmament of all nuclear weapons, missiles and related programs, adding North Korea will never be recognized as a nuclear state.

Upon her arrival in South Korea from China, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited the demilitarized zone on the border with North Korea yesterday.

During the visit to the region, the minister was briefed on the current situation in North Korea.

In the inter-Korean military border area, there are more than a million soldiers at the 38th parallel. The United States currently has about 28500,52 troops stationed in South Korea. Nearly half of South Korea's 35 million people live in the metropolitan area around Seoul, close to that border, and tensions on the Korean peninsula have escalated sharply in recent months. According to the German government, North Korea last year conducted 60 tests, using at least <> missiles, including four intercontinental missile tests.

U.N. resolutions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles of any range, which, depending on their design, can also be fitted with a nuclear warhead. Missiles capable of flying more than 5500,<> kilometers are intercontinental ballistic missiles.

"Our shared interest in regional stability in the Indo-Pacific region, which has recently been under serious threat from North Korea's missile tests in violation of international law," Baerbock said before starting her Asian tour.

Before heading to South Korea, Baerbock made her first visit to China, where she discussed China's continued support for Russia in its war against Ukraine, the situation on Taiwan and human rights.