US, Japan and South Korea present united front against North Korea despite rift between Asian allies

Wendy Sherman, the US deputy secretary of state, on Wednesday met with her counterparts Takeo Mori and Choi Jung-kun in Tokyo

Sherman said the three countries ‘are together and shoulder-to-shoulder’ in their policies to contain North Korea and its weapons programmes

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Wendy Sherman, the US deputy secretary of state, speaks to reporters after meeting with her Japanese and South Korean counterparts. Photo: EPA

Published: 2:14pm, 21 Jul 2021Updated: 10:09pm, 21 Jul 2021

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Wednesday said Washington, Tokyo and Seoul had sent a clear message that they were on the same page regarding their policy towards North Korea despite some recent friction between the two Asian allies.

“That close coordination sends a very critical message to North Korea in that we are together and shoulder-to-shoulder in our approach to this policy,” Sherman told reporters after meeting the vice foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea in Tokyo.

A statement by the US State Department did not refer to China by name when saying the trio also discussed the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait, and reiterated opposition to “activities that undermine the rules-based international order and affirmed the need to maintain an inclusive, free, and open Indo-Pacific region”.

At the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s regular press briefing on Wednesday, spokesman Zhao Lijian said the mention of Taiwan showed that the US and Japan were “sticking to the Cold War mentality, deliberately engaging in group confrontation and trying to create anti-China encirclement”.

This went against what most countries in the region wanted, which was peace, development and cooperation, he added.

Speaking to reporters, Sherman sidestepped questions about whether her eight-day trip to Asia, which also includes stops in South Korea and Mongolia, would take her to China. She said she had no updates on the itinerary of her trip, adding: “We’ve been clear we will engage when it is in our interests, and will do so in a practical, substantive and direct manner – that remains the case.