US, S. Korea, Japan to formalise security ties

Move against threats from North Korea comes before next US leader is in office

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The US, South Korea and Japan will sign a deal to formalise their security partnership against threats from North Korea’s nuclear weapons, cementing ties before America inaugurates its next president in January.

South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik said in an interview with Bloomberg News that he will soon meet his US and Japanese counterparts to sign the pact known as the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework.

“A priority would be to establish a system to more effectively, promptly and coherently respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats among South Korea, the US and Japan, and to make that irreversible,” he said in the interview in Seoul on June 14.

The framework would likely build on a landmark summit among the leaders of the three countries in 2023 that included practical steps to counter threats by North Korea such as real-time data sharing on missile launches, and moves to bind the trilateral relationship so tightly that it would be hard to unravel.

“It will be signed within the second half of this year. We are arranging the schedule to meet as soon as possible,” Mr Shin said.