Japan’s top general lauds closer South Korea military ties as mutual concerns grow over China, North Korea

Tokyo CNN —

America’s two most powerful allies in the Pacific are taking their defense ties to new heights amid increasing concerns over China’s assertiveness in the region and North Korean threats, Japan’s top general said Thursday.

Before a trilateral meeting with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. CQ Brown and South Korean Adm. Kim Myung-soo, Japanese Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida said China was trying to “change the status quo by force” in the East China and South China seas, while North Korea was carrying out “repeated ballistic missile launches and continuous arms transfers” to Russia.

Yoshida called on Japan, South Korea and the United States to “demonstrate our strong unity domestically and globally to ensure regional peace and stability.”

South Korea, US and Japan conducting trilateral exercise in the waters and airs south of the Jeju island between January 15 and 17, 2024.

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But bilateral cooperation between Japan and South Korea is the most noteworthy result of this week’s meeting in Tokyo.

On Wednesday, Yoshida met South Korea’s Kim for the first such meeting between the East Asian defense chiefs in six years — a moment a US defense official stressed was significant.

Kim said he and Yoshida “share a lot of the same thoughts,” an acknowledgment of the mutual perspective on the regional threat posed by China and North Korea.

“We developed strong trust between us,” said Yoshida, adding the meeting sets the stage for the Japan-South Korea bilateral “defense cooperation to achieve a new height.”

Regional analyst James Brown said the Japan-South Korea meeting showed just how far the