Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi agreed Saturday that bilateral and trilateral cooperation with the United States remains essential for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and across the region, according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry.

The meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore came about an hour after Ahn warned during a plenary session that North Korea is emerging as a growing security threat beyond the Korean Peninsula as its military ties with Russia deepen.

Seoul’s readout of the talks did not mention North Korea by name, instead emphasizing efforts to