Russian Foreign Minister Says Stronger South Korea-U.S.-Japan Military Cooperation Raises Risk of WMD Proliferation

[Financial News] Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that stronger military cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan could increase the risk of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), including nuclear weapons.
Lavrov made the remarks at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok on the 3rd (local time), saying, "The trilateral axis of the United States, Japan and South Korea is increasingly expanding cooperation and exercises in the military sphere."
He added, "Although President Donald Trump recently abruptly canceled or significantly scaled back plans for military exercises with these countries," he noted, "the overall trend is nevertheless clear."
Lavrov particularly said that Japan under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was showing a strong interest in adding a nuclear element to military cooperation, emphasizing, "This, too, creates threats and risks associated with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."
Russia says it seeks open exchanges with East Asian countries, but that a closed and aggressive bloc is forming in opposition to this approach.
Meanwhile, Japan has not joined the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), despite emphasizing the devastation caused by atomic bombings and the risks of using nuclear weapons, because it takes into account the nuclear umbrella provided by its ally, the United States. Earlier, when asked in the House of Councillors of Japan in July whether the need to reconsider the Three Non-Nuclear Principles—under which Japan does not possess, manufacture or introduce nuclear weapons—should be discussed, Prime Minister Takaichi said, "I will put it on the agenda," signaling the possibility of a review.
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