The defense chiefs of South Korea, the United States and Japan have signed the first document to institutionalize trilateral security cooperation. 

Defense Minister Shin Won-shik and his American and Japanese counterparts Lloyd Austin and Minoru Kihara held trilateral talks on Sunday at Japan's Defense Ministry in Tokyo and signed the Memorandum of Cooperation on the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework (TSCF), announcing that it has come into effect.

According to the joint press statement after the talks, the three said that the TSCF institutionalizes trilateral security cooperation among defense authorities to contribute to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, in the Indo-Pacific region, and beyond.

The three sides agreed to host a trilateral defense ministers' meeting and other high-ranking trilateral talks on a rotational basis.

They also agreed to strengthen communication and cooperation for the effective operation of their real-time information-sharing system for missiles launched by North Korea and to hold trilateral exercises such as the "Freedom Edge" regularly based on the multi-year trilateral exercise plan.

The defense chiefs reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening trilateral security cooperation while expressing grave concern over the increasing military and economic cooperation commitment between Russia and North Korea.