A photo of a strategic cruise missile test on a naval warship, released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on August 21. (Source: KCNA)

The three countries' defense ministers reached the consensus during a meeting during US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's visit to Seoul to attend the annual bilateral security dialogue with his host counterpart Shin Won-sik, scheduled for November 13. Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara attended the trilateral meeting online.

In a statement, the South Korean Ministry of Defense stated: "The three ministers assessed that preparations for a real-time data sharing mechanism, aimed at improving each country's ability to detect and assess missiles from North Korea, are currently in the final stages. The parties agreed to officially activate this mechanism in December."

The three countries' defense ministers condemned Pyongyang's latest nuclear activities and missile tests, and pledged to cooperate closely for the common goal of "complete denuclearization" of North Korea in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions.

In addition, the three officials also agreed to outline a plan to conduct a trilateral exercise later this year, thereby conducting joint training in a “more systematic and effective manner” starting in January next year.

“The officials also agreed to continuously expand trilateral training activities to various fields in the future,” the statement stressed.