U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has underlined the importance of small-sized multilateral groups formed by countries in the Asia-Pacific.

Campbell said Wednesday during a conference of the Center for a New American Security in Washington that such multilateral and minilateral engagements “can be remarkably important in building trust and tackling critical issues that lie before particular countries.”

He stressed that of those groups, he thinks probably the most important for the U.S. would be the one comprising the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Campbell then expressed hope for "stable and enduring" relations between Seoul and Tokyo as he said the U.S. shares strong ties with both nations.