The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan have discussed ways to stop North Korea from pursuing the development of nuclear weapons and missiles. 

According to the foreign ministry, Vice Minister for Strategy and Intelligence Cho Koo-rae and the director-general of the Japanese foreign ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Masaaki Kanai, met in Seoul on Monday and agreed to consistently pursue the North’s complete denuclearization. 

Monday marked the top nuclear negotiators’ first meeting, as well as the first high-level consultations the two countries have held on the issue since the launch of the second Donald Trump administration. 

The two envoys shared the results of a U.S.-Japan summit held Friday and of communication between Seoul and Washington, as well as between Washington and Tokyo, on the North and its nuclear programs. 

They stressed the need for South Korea, Japan and the U.S. to continually share intelligence and engage in policy cooperation.