President Yoon Suk Yeol held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) summit in Washington D.C.

At the start of the bilateral talks, Yoon said that the deepening military and economic ties between North Korea and Russia are causing "serious concern" not only in East Asia but also for global security.

Yoon added that amid the increasingly grave international security situation, it has great strategic implication for South Korea and Japan to attend the NATO summit as members of the four Indo-Pacific Partners (IP4) for three consecutive years.

President Yoon also said that Moscow's closer ties with Pyongyang highlights the importance of the trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan outlined in their Camp David summit in 2023.

The president then expressed hope that Seoul and Tokyo will cooperate closely with NATO member countries, and reaffirmed that the security of the North Atlantic and Northeast Asia cannot be separated.

Kishida also said that in light of the current international situation, it is meaningful for Yoon and him to have close discussions and cooperation based on a solid mutual trust. He added that the security of the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific is inseparable, and that the NATO summit provides an opportunity to deepen cooperation between NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners.