U.S., South Korean and Japanese national security advisers meet to discuss North Korean threat

U.S., S. Korean and Japanese nat'l security advisers meet in Seoul to discuss N. Korean nuclear threat, regional challenges. Discussions include N. Korea's satellite launch, potential arms alignment with Russia, and strengthening trilateral security cooperation. U.S. reaffirms commitment to defend S. Korea, and all 3 countries express concerns about N. Korea-Russia cooperation. Nat'l security envoys also met in Tokyo to discuss N. Korea's weapons development and cyber theft activities.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts Saturday in their latest three-way talks on the North Korean nuclear threat and other regional challenges.

The meeting in Seoul comes at a time when tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest in years, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accelerates the expansion of his nuclear and missile program and flaunts an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorises the preemptive use of nuclear weapons.

The United States and its Asian allies have responded by increasing the visibility of their trilateral security cooperation in the region and strengthening their combined military exercises, which Kim condemns as invasion rehearsals.

U.S. and Japanese officials said Saturday's three-way talks would include discussions on North Korea's recent launch of its first military reconnaissance satellite, which Mr. Kim has described as crucial for monitoring U.S. and South Korean military activities and enhancing the threat of his nuclear-capable missiles.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have also expressed concerns about a potential arms alignment between North Korea and Russia. They worry Mr. Kim is providing badly needed munitions to help Russian President Vladimir Putin wage war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian technology assistance to upgrade his nuclear-armed military.

The meeting comes after Sullivan had separate bilateral talks Friday with South Korea's national security office director, Cho Tae-yong, and Japan's national security secretariat secretary general, Takeo Akiba.

Mr. Sullivan also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.