The White House said Thursday that the leaders of the United States, India, Japan and Australia will discuss threats from North Korea, and cooperation between North Korea and Russia, during their Quad summit Saturday in the U.S. state of Delaware.

Mira Rapp-Hooper, the senior director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council, made the remarks at a press briefing in Washington.

Saying that cooperation between North Korea and Russia poses a real threat not only to Europe but also to the Indo-Pacific region, Rapp-Hooper added that she expects the Quad leaders to exchange views on how to counter it.

The Quad summit comes amid growing provocations from North Korea, which recently released images of a uranium enrichment facility, launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles and tested a new tactical ballistic missile equipped with a super-large warhead. 
 
The White House official said the U.S. government and all of its partners, especially South Korea and Japan, are treating North Korea's nuclear program, missile capabilities and conventional weapons capabilities with the “utmost urgency.” 

She added that the U.S. and its partners have redoubled their cooperation on all these issues to make sure they are in lockstep and prepared for any provocation from the North.