USS Carl Vinson exercises with Japan air force

The meeting was attended by USA special envoy Joseph Yun, South Korean special representative Kim Hong-kyun and Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian affairs chief Kenji Kanasugi.

Meanwhile, the report, submitted at the day's Cabinet meeting by Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, noted South Korea is the most important neighbor that shares strategic interests with Japan.

The U.S. Navy said the USS Wayne E. Meyer and the South Korean navy's Wang Geon are conducting exercises in waters west of Korean Peninsula.

The measures, if enacted, are expected to further squeeze North Korea's foreign currency earnings, which are believed to be funneled into its development of nuclear weapons and missiles.

The USS Fitzgerald and the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Forces destroyer JMSDF Choukai on Tuesday, participated in the Sea of Japan exercises, involving ships equipped with the Aegis anti-missile system, Efe news cited a statement by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.

On Monday, the US and South Korean military forces executed a joint air-to-air combat exercise at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea, according to he US Pacific Command.

South Korea, the United States and Japan plan to push for a ban on North Korea's trade of fishing rights if it conducts a fresh nuclear or missile provocation, a diplomatic source said Wednesday. South Korea's military said Tuesday that North Korea held major live-fire drills in an area around its eastern coastal town of Wonsan as it marked the anniversary of the founding of its military.

South Korea says key parts of a contentious US missile defense system have been installed a day after rival North Korea showed off its military power.

Analysis of recent missile launches by North Korea suggest that at least some of the regime's arsenal has sufficient range and accuracy to hit targets in Japan, with U.S. military facilities here likely aiming points.