US Wants More Military Training with Asian Allies

The top U.S. military officer is calling for more war games in Northeast Asia, in the wake of what he calls increased North Korean belligerence. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also appears to be prodding Tokyo and Seoul to join the United States in a three-way alliance to deter Pyongyang.

The United States and South Korea have agreed to conduct more joint military maneuvers, in response to North Korea's shelling of a South Korean island last month.

Following talks with top South Korean defense officials here Wednesday, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said it is time for a three-country response to Pyongyang's recent aggression.

"It's important that we look to the future and work together, in terms of making a difference in that stability. So I would hope that we would see more interaction, more trilateral interaction and multilateral interaction in the region in the future to involve South Korea, the United States and Japan," he said.

Mullen will hold talks in Tokyo, Thursday to make that pitch directly to Japanese leaders.

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