US, South Korea, Japan to share North Korean missile warning data

The US, South Korea and Japan have decided to operate a system enabling them to share warning data in real time of future missile launches by North Korea.

According to Lee Jong-sup, South Korea's defence minister, the agreement was reached on Saturday in a trilateral meeting with his US and Japanese counterparts on the sideline of the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue 2023 in Singapore.

The meeting with Lloyd Austin and Yasukazu Hamada came after North Korea recently failed to launch a military spy satellite.

"While actively implementing the agreed-upon measures between the leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan, the three countries agreed to elevate security cooperation to another level," Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency quoted Lee as saying.

"Especially regarding the real-time sharing of North Korean missile warning data, we decided to connect the respective information sharing systems – one run between South Korea and the United States and the other between Japan and the United States – and operate the combined one within this year," he added.

The 20th Shangri-La Dialogue, which began on Friday, will continue until Sunday.

Defence ministers from several countries, including the US, China, Japan, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Canada, the UK, Cambodia and Germany, are attending the summit.