The U.S. State Department says it sees ensuring close ties among the United States, South Korea and Japan as vital in resolving shared regional challenges,... including those posed by North Korea.
A spokesperson for the department was responding to a written inquiry by Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency to the escalating feud between the Asian countries.
That was exacerbated this week by Tokyo's restriction of high-tech exports to South Korea amid the dispute over South Korea's court rulings against Japanese firms to compensate the Korean victims of Japan's forced labor during Japanese colonial rule.
Despite the tensions,.... the State Department said the three countries are united in pressuring North Korea to denuclearize.
It said the U.S. is always pursuing ways to strengthen the three countries' relations both publicly and behind the scenes.