Japan, South Korea agree to step up security cooperation amid nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. Countries hold first security talks in five years. It is reported by Kyodo.

Representatives of the foreign and defense ministries of South Korea and Japan also agreed to step up coordination with the United States on real-time information sharing between the three countries during North Korean missile launches..

The parties also deepened mutual understanding of security and defense policy.

The meeting came amid ongoing concern in South Korea that Japan is seeking to develop a capability to strike targets in enemy territory..

The administration of South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol says that in situations concerning the national interests of Seoul, there must be prior consultation and consent..

Security talks between the two countries were suspended in 2018 after the South Korean Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies to compensate plaintiffs for forced labor during World War II during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-1945..

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Earlier it was reported that the United States, Japan and South Korea discussed the issues of regular missile defense exercises to deter and respond to the nuclear and missile threat from North Korea..

The United States, South Korea, and Japan also expressed deep concern about North Korea's malicious cyber activities.. Cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers was a key source of funding for North Korean arms programs.