A senior U.S. official has called on Seoul to recant its decision to scrap a military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo.

Marc Knapper, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, made the call at a forum in Seoul on Wednesday afternoon. Knapper also expressed worries over souring relations between the U.S.' two biggest allies in the region.

He pointed out that Russia and China have engaged in joint reconnaissance activities over the East Sea for the first time, and warned that such provocations will continue if relations between Seoul and Tokyo continue to deteriorate.

He was alluding to Chinese and Russian military aircraft's unauthorized incursions into the Korean air defense identification zone over the East Sea in July.

But Knapper added that Seoul and Tokyo should find solutions to their own problems while Washington lends a helping hand. "We believe that some prudence is required to prevent tensions from contaminating the economic and security aspects of Japan-South Korea ties," he said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution reaffirming the importance of cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan on Tuesday.

