Top diplomats of S.Korea, US, Japan vow united response to growing N.Korea-Russia military ties (Ld)

Washington/San Francisco/Seoul, Nov 15 : The top diplomats of South Korea, the US and Japan have reiterated that the growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia poses a "serious threat" to peace and stability, vowing to act together with the international community over the issue.

Foreign Minister Park Jin, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa reaffirmed the consensus during the trilateral talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco on Tuesday (local time), as they are stepping up cooperation to address North Korean threats and other regional and global issues.

The three-way talks took place less than two months after they held brief talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Yonhap news agency reported.

Their meeting came as Washington is seeking greater cooperation from regional allies and partners in the middle of multiple security challenges, including the war between Israel and the Hamas militant group and Russias protracted war in Ukraine.

"Looking around the world, there is so much work for us to do together," Blinken said, noting that the agenda for Tuesdays meeting included North Koreas military cooperation with Russia, support for Ukraine and other regional and global issues.

int/khz