Defense chiefs from Japan, the United States, and South Korea agreed in Singapore on Saturday to resume joint drills to deal with North Korea’s ballistic missiles following its repeated launches since the start of this year, Kyodo News reported.

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong Sup, in a statement issued after their talks, also highlighted the importance of “peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait.

To address North Korea’s firing of missiles, the three nations pledged to carry out “trilateral missile warning and ballistic missile search and tracking exercises” for the first time since December 2017, as well as to take further joint actions to deal with Pyongyang’s ballistic missile launches.

“Dealing collectively with (North Korea’s threats) is becoming more important than ever,” Kishi told reporters after the talks.

North Korea has conducted 16 rounds of ballistic missile tests since the beginning of this year, with the latest one last Sunday when it fired eight missiles from various parts of the country.

RHM/PR