The defense authorities of South Korea, the United States and Japan have agreed to launch a real-time system to share missile-warning data on North Korean launches.

According to Seoul’s defense ministry, the agreement was made in talks in Seoul on Sunday between defense minister Shin Won-sik and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin as well as Japan’s Minoru Kihara, who joined via a video link.

In the meeting, the defense chiefs assessed that preparations for the real-time data-sharing system are in the final stage and agreed to officially launch the mechanism next month.

The ministry said that the three sides also agreed to hold trilateral military exercises “more systematically and efficiently" beginning in January and to expand drills into various areas.

Sunday’s talks also checked up on implementation of agreements on defense reached by the leaders of the three nations during their David Camp summit in August.

The defense chiefs further discussed ways to bolster security cooperation to contain and respond to advancing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.

Expressing grave concerns about the North’s attempt to develop various projectiles and nuclear weapons, the defense chiefs strongly condemned the activities as a serious threat to the security of the Korean Peninsula and the region.

They also denounced the recent arms transfers between North Korea and Russia as a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.