The defense ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan have vowed to maintain close cooperation to support diplomatic efforts to establish complete denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, acting U.S. Defense Minister Patrick Shanahan and their Japanese counterpart, Takeshi Iwaya, made the pledge on Sunday during the trilateral talks on the sidelines of the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore.

After the 100-minute talks, the defense chiefs issued a joint statement in which they shared the need of continued international cooperation to suppress, prevent and eradicate illegal North Korean ship-to-ship transfer activities.

The three sides also agreed on the importance of thorough enforcement of United Nations Security Council resolutions on North Korea.

The defense chiefs said in the joint statement that it is the common goal of the international community that Pyongyang thoroughly abide by its international obligations in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions which call on the communist country to dismantle its nuclear weapons in a verifiable and irreversible manner.

They also agreed to share their assessments on the North's recent missile launches and to continue close monitoring of the situation.