Japan, South Korea and the United States have agreed to work toward launching a mechanism to share real-time warning data on North Korean missile launches ¡°before the end of the year,¡± the countries¡¯ defense chiefs said Saturday.
In a joint statement released after a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of a regional security conference in Singapore, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and U.S. defense chief Lloyd Austin said they had discussed ¡°ongoing progress¡± in consultations, calling the mechanism ¡°a major step for deterrence, peace and stability.¡±
¡°At this meeting, we confirmed the progress of our study on the real-time sharing of North Korean missile warning data and agreed to make further progress toward the launch of initial operations within the next few months,¡± Hamada told reporters at the Shangri-La Dialogue conference. ¡°The specific details and the timing of the operational launch are still being worked out, but we will make every effort to achieve this at the earliest possible time.¡±
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