Top diplomats of South Korea, U.S. and Japan blast North-Russia arms deals, Hamas's attack on Israel

From left, Foreign Minister Park Jin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa meet in San Francisco on Tuesday on the sidelines of the APEC meeting. [MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS]

The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan condemned alleged arms deals between Russia and North Korea and the Hamas militant group’s attack on Israel during their meeting in San Francisco on Tuesday.

“Military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a serious threat to international peace and stability beyond the Korean Peninsula,” said South Korea's Foreign Ministry in a statement Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also condemned alleged two-way arms deals between Russia and North Korea in his visit to Seoul last week. U.S. officials have accused the North of supplying military equipment to Russia for its aggression against Ukraine and Russia for providing technology and support to the North for its military programs.

North Korean weapons have also surfaced in the Hamas attack on Israel last month.

“The rules-based international order is facing multiple challenges in this poly-crises era,” said Foreign Minister Park Jin in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa on the sidelines of the APEC meeting. “Strengthening cooperation among like-minded countries is more important than ever, which is why the three of us are here.”

In the trio’s meeting held as a follow-up to the agreements made by the leaders at Camp David in August, Blinken stressed America’s “ironclad commitment” to the defense of South Korea and Japan, according to the U.S. State Department.

“The three discussed the importance of greater economic cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to build on the historic Camp David Summit to enhance U.S.-ROK-Japan trilateral efforts in strengthening regional security, promoting economic prosperity, and advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the U.S. State Department said Tuesday.

The trio also called for the swift release of hostages taken during the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

“We have made very clear our position that there can be no more business as usual with Hamas since Oct. 7,” Matthew Miller, spokesman of the State Department, told the press in Washington on Tuesday. “At the same time, we have recognized that Hamas continues to hold American citizens and citizens of Israel and citizens of Thailand and citizens of other countries as hostages. And it’s useful for countries that have relationships with Hamas now to use those relationships to try to get hostages released.

“But long term, our position is very clear that there can be no going back to the days before Oct. 7,” he said.

The three also vowed to cooperate further to sanction the North’s illicit cyber activities funding its weapons programs, as well as call attention to the regime’s egregious human rights violations.

“The three ministers reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation to promote human rights in North Korea and agreed to accelerate related cooperation, including cooperation at the Security Council next year,” the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in its statement.

Starting next year, both Japan and Korea will be nonpermanent members of the Security Council, which has failed to pass resolutions to sanction the North since Russia and China vetoed a U.S. draft resolution in May last year.

The North has since conducted unprecedented numbers of military provocations, including the launch of two Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missiles in April and July and two failed attempts to launch a spy satellite into orbit.

On Wednesday, the regime claimed to have successfully tested solid-fuel engines to power a new intermediate-range ballistic missile.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]