Biden Praises Cooperation Between Us, Japan And South Korea In Face Of Threat

Biden spoke at the start of a meeting in Peru with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

The meeting came amid growing concerns about North Korea's growing military partnership with Russia and Pyongyang's increased pace of ballistic missile tests.

The meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru came as North Korea is sending thousands of troops to Russia to help Moscow try to reclaim land in the Kursk border region that Ukraine captured earlier this year.

"I'm proud of how far we've come. Whatever the problem, we've faced it together," Biden said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered a series of ballistic missile tests ahead of the U.S. election.

White House officials are concerned that Pyongyang could take more provocative actions before President-elect Donald Trump takes office and begins his administration.

Biden is on a six-day visit to Latin America for the last major international summits of his presidency. After APEC, he will hold a meeting in Brazil with leaders of the G20, a group of the world's 20 most industrialized countries.

The Democrat took part in an informal meeting with other APEC leaders on Friday, the day he also meets with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte. He also shook hands with the leaders of Thailand and Vietnam.

Shortly before the trilateral meeting began, Biden and Japan's Ishiba met face-to-face. It was the first meeting between the leaders since Ishiba took office. The leaders spoke by phone on October 1, shortly after the prime minister's inauguration.