Page 118 - Trilateral Korea Japan U.S. Cooperation

the greater issue lies in the enforcement failures of existing
sanctions. The U.S. can and should lead such sanction
enforcement efforts.

Current South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Hyun Dong
Cho does not fear potential North Korean reactions to actions
which may be viewed as provocations. He is confident that the
South Korean military would win a military confrontation,
even without Japanese or American involvement. Timidity in
the face of tyranny does not cause transformational change.

North Korean propaganda also lashes out against Japan.
Japanese citizens have been abducted in order to give language
training to North Korean government officials. This has been
a repeated complaint by the Japanese government over the
years and deserves to be addressed squarely.

The U.S.-Japan Joint Leaders’ Statement (April 10, 2024)
announced new strategic initiatives that included defense
and security cooperation. The initiatives are to supply the
Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) system and the
Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) cooperative development
program to counter high-end, regional hypersonic threats.

North Korea has also fired missiles over Japan. Thus, it has
been important for the U.S. to increase Japanese security
through the systems that it has provided to the Japanese
military.

It would be wise to prepare for the possibility that CCP
Chairman Xi Jinping may launch a military attack on Taiwan

Chapter Seven : Threats from North Korea: A Personal View 117