South Korea, US and Japan top military chiefs meet in Seoul | World News

South Korea, US and Japan top military chiefs meet in Seoul

SEOUL: The top military chiefs of South Korea, the United States and Japan met in Seoul Friday, as US President Donald Trump piles strain on Washington’s allies over defence spending and commerce.General Dan Caine, the top US military officer, held talks along with his South Korean counterpart Kim Myung-soo, and Japan’s General Yoshihide Yoshida, as a part of an annual assembly on regional safety.They mentioned rising military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, which has despatched weapons and 1000’s of troops for Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.The talks coated “the potential transfer of military technology from Russia to the DPRK”, the three military chiefs mentioned in an announcement which used North Korea’s official title. They known as on the nuclear-armed North to “immediately cease” all such illegal actions.Speaking at first of the trilateral talks, Caine mentioned that North Korea and China are each “undergoing an unprecedented military build up with a clear and unambiguous intent to move forward with their own agendas”.“We need to be mindful of that, we need to be able to demonstrate resolve, to be entrepreneurial and proactive in our partnerships,” he added. Separately, the three nations performed joint air drills on Friday over South Korea’s southern island of Jeju, involving a US B-52H strategic bomber, in line with the defence ministry.Washington, Seoul’s long-time safety ally, stations round 28,500 troops in the South. The two nations signed a brand new five-year settlement in 2024 on sharing the price of these troops, however this week Trump mentioned South Korea is “paying very little for the military”. Trump, who has additionally threatened Seoul with 25 % tariffs until they will negotiate a commerce deal, mentioned South Korea “should be paying for their military”.South Korea’s international ministry mentioned this week that they have been “committed to faithfully implementing” the defence price deal, “which was validly concluded and has entered into force”.