Defense officials from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan agreed to exert the "strongest pressure" against North Korea to induce the regime to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.  
 
Seoul’s Defense Ministry said the three parties held a video conference early Wednesday to share intelligence on the North’s sixth nuclear test and to discuss response measures.
 
The ministry's director general of international affairs Choi Hyong-chan represented South Korea. His American and Japanese counterparts were David Helvey, acting assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, and Satoshi Maeda, director general of the defense policy bureau.
 
The Defense Ministry said the three sides agreed that the North’s provocations will only strengthen the international community’s resolve against Pyongyang’s illegal acts. 
 
During the conference, the U.S. assured its allies of its commitment to full extended deterrence, mobilizing conventional and nuclear capabilities, against the North.

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