Seoul: Top naval commanders of South Korea, the United States, and Japan gathered in Seoul to hold a series of talks aimed at strengthening their trilateral maritime security cooperation, the South's Navy said. The meeting brought together Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Stephen Koehler, and Adm. Akira Saito, chief of staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. They engaged in bilateral talks and a trilateral dinner meeting.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the discussions occurred amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, raising speculation about whether the talks would address the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. During the trilateral meeting, the three sides shared their perspectives on the regional maritime security environment in the Pacific and discussed ways to enhance cooperation. They reportedly explored strategies to counter North Korea's efforts to bolster its maritime capabilities, demonstrated by the development of a 5,000-ton destroyer, Choe Hyon, and recent missile test-firings. U.S. President Donald Trump had previously urged South Korea, Japan, and other nations to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the security of shipping lanes.

In the bilateral talks between Kim and Koehler, both parties exchanged views on the robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture and cooperation in naval maintenance, repair, and operations. Kim and Saito, on the other hand, conducted in-depth discussions on expanding personnel exchange and resuming joint maritime search and rescue exercises (SAREX), as previously discussed in a ministerial meeting between their defense chiefs. In January, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, agreed to resume joint SAREX drills for the first time in nine years, as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation.

The top admirals of the three countries were scheduled to attend a dinner meeting later to likely discuss trilateral coordination measures to respond to and deter North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats.