South Korea, the United States and Japan have reaffirmed their commitment to jointly respond to major threats in the Indo-Pacific region, including North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and China's disregard for international law in the South China Sea.

The three nations made the commitment on Saturday in a joint statement after the inaugural trilateral Indo-Pacific Dialogue in Washington, D.C.

The three nations condemned the North’s continued development of its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile programs, growing military cooperation with Russia, and grave human rights violations and abuses.

They also reiterated their commitment to international law, including the freedom of navigation and overflight, and voiced opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion anywhere in the waters of the Indo-Pacific region, in apparent reference to unlawful maritime claims by China in the South China Sea.

They also reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as indispensable to security and prosperity in the international community.

The three-way meeting was attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Byung-won, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and Japanese Deputy Minister Kobe Yasuhiro.