Defense chiefs of ROK, US, Japan vow deeper cooperation amid North Korean threat



News Defense chiefs of ROK, US, Japan vow deeper cooperation amid North Korean threat State Department officials also visiting Seoul for talks on shifting security environment and modernizing the alliance Jeongmin Kim \| Joon Ha Park July 11, 2025 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo (center) with his counterparts U.S. Gen. Dan Caine and Japanese Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida during the 22nd Trilateral Chiefs of Defense (Tri-CHOD) meeting in Seoul \| Image: ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff (July 11, 2025) The top military leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan reaffirmed their joint commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and vowed to deepen trilateral defense cooperation during a high-level meeting in Seoul on Friday. Adm. Kim Myung-soo of South Korea, Gen. Dan Caine of the United States and Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida of Japan convened for the 22nd Trilateral Chiefs of Defense (Tri-CHOD) meeting. In a joint statement issued after the talks, the three sides stressed the importance of coordinated action to confront regional and global security challenges, particularly those posed by Pyongyang. “The chairmen of the © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update & Podcast Updates Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

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Defense chiefs of ROK, US, Japan vow deeper cooperation amid North Korean threat

State Department officials also visiting Seoul for talks on shifting security environment and modernizing the alliance

Jeongmin Kim | Joon Ha Park July 11, 2025

Defense chiefs of ROK, US, Japan vow deeper cooperation amid North Korean threat

ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo (center) with his counterparts U.S. Gen. Dan Caine and Japanese Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida during the 22nd Trilateral Chiefs of Defense (Tri-CHOD) meeting in Seoul | Image: ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff (July 11, 2025)

The top military leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan reaffirmed their joint commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and vowed to deepen trilateral defense cooperation during a high-level meeting in Seoul on Friday.

Adm. Kim Myung-soo of South Korea, Gen. Dan Caine of the United States and Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida of Japan convened for the 22nd Trilateral Chiefs of Defense (Tri-CHOD) meeting. In a joint statement issued after the talks, the three sides stressed the importance of coordinated action to confront regional and global security challenges, particularly those posed by Pyongyang.

“The chairmen of the

About the Authors

Jeongmin Kim

Jeongmin Kim is Executive Director at Korea Risk Group, based in Seoul. She covers inter-Korean relations and North and South Korean foreign and military affairs. Kim has covered the 2022 ROK presidential election on the ground, and prior to joining NK News, she worked for the CSIS Korea Chair in Washington D.C. and Reuters news agency’s Seoul bureau.

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Joon Ha Park

Joon Ha Park is a correspondent at Korea Risk Group. He has previously written on issues related to the two Koreas at The Peninsula Report, and appeared on ABC News Australia, Deutsche Welle and Monocle Radio. He specializes in offering in-depth analyses of South Korea’s defense policy, security relations and domestic politics for Korea Pro.

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