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Top naval commanders from Korea, U.S. and Japan meet to enhance maritime security cooperation

Published: 15 Apr. 2026, 18:38

Korean Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, far left, engages in bilateral talks with U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Stephen Koehler, far right, in Seoul on April 15. [REPUBLIC OF KOREA NAVY]

Top naval commanders of South Korea, the United States and Japan gathered in Seoul on Wednesday to hold a series of talks aimed at strengthening their trilateral maritime security cooperation, the South Korean Navy said.

The gathering brought together Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Stephen Koehler and Adm. Akira Saito, chief of staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, for bilateral talks and a trilateral dinner meeting, according to the armed service.

The meetings came amid heightened tensions in the ongoing Iran war, raising speculation over whether their talks would address the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier called on South Korea, Japan and others to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help secure shipping lanes.

Korean Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, far left, and Adm. Akira Saito, chief of staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, far right, hold bilateral talks in Seoul on April 15. [REPUBLIC OF KOREA NAVY]

In the bilateral talks between Kim and Koehler held earlier in the day, both sides exchanged views on a robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture and cooperation in naval maintenance, repair and operations, the Navy said.

Kim and Saito, meanwhile, held in-depth discussions on expanding personnel exchanges and resuming joint maritime search-and-rescue exercises (SAREX), as discussed in a ministerial meeting between their defense chiefs earlier this year, it added.

In January, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, met in Japan and agreed to resume joint SAREX drills for the first time in nine years as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation.

The top admirals of the three countries were set to attend a dinner meeting later Wednesday to likely discuss trilateral coordination measures to respond to and deter North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats.

Yonhap