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US warns of possible North Korea’s seventh nuclear test in 2024 amid steps to curb Kim Jong-un’s illegal funds
- The US, Japan and South Korea have called for curbs on North Korea’s cybertheft activities and alleged arms transfers to Russia
- The three countries are looking at ways to disrupt the North’s capacity to hack and steal cryptocurrencies
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The national security advisers of the United States, South Korea and Japan on Saturday called for a stronger international push to suppress North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and missiles, its cybertheft activities and alleged arms transfers to Russia.
The meeting in Seoul came as tensions on the Korean peninsula are at their highest in years, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un accelerating the expansion of his nuclear and missile programme and flaunting an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorises the pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons.
The United States and its Asian allies have responded by increasing the visibility of their trilateral partnership in the region and strengthening their combined military exercises, which Kim condemns as invasion rehearsals.
Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have also expressed concerns about a potential arms alignment between North Korea and Russia. They worry Kim is providing badly needed munitions to help Russian President Vladimir Putin wage war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian technology help to upgrade his nuclear-armed military.
Speaking after the meeting, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington is working with Seoul and Tokyo to strengthen defence cooperation and improve its response to North Korean missile testing and space-launch activities, including a real-time information sharing arrangement on North Korean missile launches that the countries plan to start at an unspecified date in December.
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