From the left are Chung Suk-hwan, deputy minister for national defense policy, Randall Schriver, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs at the U.S.' defense department, Takeshi Ishikawa, deputy director-general defense policy bureau of Japan's defense ministry and Marc Knapper, U.S. acting deputy assistant secretary for Japan and Korean affairs. Yonhap

By Jung Da-min

Senior defense officials from South Korea, the United States and Japan held talks in Seoul, Thursday, to discuss issues related to North Korea, including its launch of multiple projectiles last week, possibly including a short-range ballistic missile.

The 11th Defense Trilateral Talks (DTT), an annual meeting for discussions of regional security issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula came five days after North Korea conducted its "new" weapons test.

Representing Seoul, Washington and Tokyo were Chung Suk-hwan, deputy minister for national defense policy, Randall Schriver, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs at the U.S.' defense department and Takeshi Ishikawa, deputy director-general of the defense policy bureau of Japan's defense ministry, respectively. U.S. Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Japan and Korean Affairs Marc Knapper also attended the meeting.

The three nations discussed how to deal with the North's military move with a measured response while promoting denuclearization efforts on the Korean Peninsula to establish lasting peace, according to South Korean officials.