US, Japan and South Korea unified in response to North Korea threats

• US, Japan and South Korea unified against North Korea threat.
• Biden offered his condolences after the stampede on Halloween.
• The three nations analyze North Korean missile tests.

US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Japan and South Korea promised on Sunday to offer a unified response to North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile threats. Biden declared that the three-way alliance is «even more important than ever» as North Korea escalates its provocations.

Biden first met separately with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. The three leaders later sat together on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, The Associated Press reported.

US, Japan and South Korea present a united front North Korea threat

The US president began by offering his condolences for the deadly stampede during Halloween celebrations in Seoul, where more than 150 people died, according to the AP.

The meeting focused on recent escalations ordered by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, though Biden said the three leaders would also discuss a tightening of supply chains across the Taiwan Strait as well as increasing support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

Biden speaks out in the face of North Korea threat: “We face real challenges”

Biden also hoped to get opinions from Kishida and Yoon on how to deal with China’s assertive strategy in the Pacific before his face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping the next day. “We face real challenges, but our countries are more aligned than ever, more prepared to take on those challenges than ever. So I look forward to deepening the bonds of cooperation between our three countries,” the president said.

North Korea has launched dozens of missiles in recent weeks, including an intercontinental ballistic missile 10 days ago that prompted alerts of evacuation in northern Japan, with allies warning of the imminent risk of the isolated country carrying out its seventh nuclear test in the coming weeks. Filed Under: US North Korea threat

Weapons tests on the Korean peninsula

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Saturday that Biden hopes to use his meetings to bolster the three countries’ joint response to the dangers posed by North Korea. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have spiked in recent months, with constant weapons demonstrations by Pyongyang and stepped-up defensive maneuvers by the United States and South Korea.

The South Korean military said this month that two B-1B bombers had conducted exercises with South Korean F-16 fighters and four F-35 fighters during the final day of their «Storm Watcher» air drills. It was the first time since December 2017 that the bombing of the Korean Peninsula had been deployed. Some 240 military aircraft, including advanced F-35 fighters from both countries, participated in the exercises, the AP reported.

The US made several proposals for negotiations with North Korea

North Korea responded with its own force and a large number of military aircraft flew over its territory. The Biden administration says it has made several proposals for negotiations with North Korea without preconditions on limits on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but that Kim Jong Un has not responded.

Biden has said he plans to press Xi to use his unique leverage over North Korea to scale back its aggressive behavior, in a bilateral meeting expected to cover many issues on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, the agency said. Filed Under: US North Korea threat

Xi and Biden will hold their first in-person meeting since Biden was elected to the White House

China “has an interest in playing a constructive role in curbing North Korea’s worst tendencies. Of course, whether they decide to do it or not is up to them,» Sullivan said. Biden told reporters on Sunday that he has “always had frank conversations” with Xi and that has prevented either of them from making “miscalculations” about his intentions.

The meeting will take place a few weeks after Xi consolidated his control over the Chinese political system at the Communist Party congress in Beijing, where he won a third term as leader against tradition. The two leaders will hold their first in-person meeting since Biden was elected to the White House, AP noted.

Striving for cooperation

In the past, U.S. officials have expressed frustration that lower-level Chinese officials have been unable or unwilling to speak for Xi, hoping that the in-person meeting will advance issues of mutual interest and, perhaps, most crucially, reach an understanding of their limitations.

“I know him well, he knows me. We just have to figure out where the red lines are and what the most important things are for each of us, going into the next two years,” said President Biden. With information from Infobae and the San Diego Union Tribune. Filed Under: USA North Korea threat