Diplomatic officials from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan met in Washington on Friday to discuss a joint response to cyber threats that are directly linked to the financing of North Korea's nuclear arms development.

According to Seoul's foreign ministry, the three sides shared assessments on Pyongyang's malicious cyber activities and IT personnel working abroad during the second session of the trilateral working group.

The ministry said the participants shared concerns about the North's IT personnel working for global IT companies under fake identities, generating funds for the regime's nuclear and missile programs and taking part in hacking and other malicious activities.

The three sides also agreed to enhance cooperation with private companies to block the North's cyber activities, diplomatically engage with countries where the North's IT workers operate, and bolster the international cyber security capacity.

The working group was launched last December, after the leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan agreed to strengthen three-way coordination against the North's cyber threats during the Camp David summit that was held last August.