South Korea, U.S. and Japan defense chiefs meet in Washington on North Korea threats

South Korea's top military officer was set to attend a trilateral meeting involving his U.S. and Japanese counterparts in Washington to discuss security cooperation in the face of North Korean nuclear and missile threats, officials said Wednesday.

Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung will meet with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Gen. Dan Caine and Gen. Hiroaki Uchikura, on Wednesday for a Trilateral Chiefs of Defense (Tri-Chod) meeting, according to the JCS.

Jin arrived in the United States on Tuesday, marking his first trip to the country since taking office in September.

The military chiefs of the three countries are expected to discuss ways to strengthen trilateral security cooperation, along with other regional security agendas and details of their trilateral multi-domain Freedom Edge exercise set for later this year.

The countries have regularly held Tri-Chod meetings to assess the regional security environment and discuss ways to expand trilateral cooperation. The last Tri-Chod meeting took place in Seoul in July 2025.

Gen. Jin is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts during his visit to Washington, according to the JCS.

On Tuesday, the JCS chief visited the Arlington National Cemetery and the Korean War Veterans Memorial to pay his respects to American troops who sacrificed their lives for their country and war veterans who fought alongside South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Yonhap