South Korea, Japan, US discuss Korean peninsula, US election & COVID in recent talks

Top security officials from the United States, Japan, and South Korea held virtual talks on Friday, November 6, where they discussed the situation on the Korean peninsula and the US elections. According to reports, the United States National Security Advisor (NSA) Robert O'Brien joined in the talks along with South Korea's National Security Chief Suh Hoon and Japan's National Security Council Secretary-General Shigeru Kitamura.

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Trilateral dialogue

The three officials extensively discussed the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the establishment of the peace settlement, COVID-19 pandemic, among other things. The officials also discussed the possible resumption of dialogue with North Korea, where Seoul emphasized the need to resume talks between Washington and Pyongyang.  Robert O'Brien particularly stressed continued cooperation and the three sides agreed that the trilateral security collaboration would go on without any vacuum regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election.

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The United States presidential election results are awaited in few states, which has caused a delay in the final outcome. Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden is currently leading with 264 electoral votes, while incumbent Donald Trump is trailing behind with 214 votes. The candidates need 270 votes to declare victory, which at this point in time seems to be favouring the former US vice-president. The Trump campaign has filed several lawsuits in undecided states, challenging the counting of late-arriving votes. 

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The three sides discussed the COVID-19 pandemic situation in their respective countries and agreed to strengthen cooperation when it comes to vaccine development programmes. COVID-19 situation is particularly grim in the United States, where more than over 9 million have been infected and over 2,35,000 have died. Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan have managed to control the pandemic, reporting just 27,000 and 1,05,000 cases respectively and fewer than 2,000 deaths when combined. 

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(With inputs from ANI)