The three countries are teaming up in the face of North Korea’s escalating threats.

In recent months, North Korea has been escalating hostile actions and rhetoric against the nearby nations of South Korea and Japan. These hostilities include frequent ballistic missile tests over foreign soil and claims of possession of nuclear weaponry. In the face of these escalating threats, South Korea and Japan, along with the cooperation of the United States, have vowed a united response against North Korea.

United States President Joe Biden held individual talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia. Following these individual talks, the leaders sat down together and announced their intent to cooperate on the matter.

“We face real challenges, but our countries are more aligned than ever, more prepared to take on those challenges than ever,” Biden said. “So I look forward to deepening the bonds of cooperation between our three countries.”

According to US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, it is Biden’s hope that these talks will help strengthen the countries’ resolve and relationship against those hostile to them. “What we would really like to see is enhanced trilateral security cooperation where the three countries are all coming together,” he said. “That’s acutely true with respect to the DPRK because of the common threat and challenge we all face, but it’s also true, more broadly, about our capacity to work together to enhance overall peace and stability in the region.”