Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol have huddled with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Spain. They reaffirmed their shared commitment to countering the threat from North Korea.

Biden said, "Our trilateral cooperation, in my view is essential to achieving our shared objective, including a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a free and open Indo-Pacific."

Kishida said, "It is essential to strengthen cooperation among our countries, including enhancing the deterrence of the Japan-US alliance, as well as that of the US-South Korea alliance."

It's the first time in about five years the leaders of the three countries have sat down for talks.

In this year alone, North Korea has conducted 17 missile tests. Military analysts say there are signs the nation is prepared to carry out its seventh nuclear test -- the first since 2017.

Kishida said there is grave concern about North Korea's provocative actions.