BANGKOK (Reuters) - Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono told his U.S. and South Korea counterparts on Sunday that “no one could be optimistic about North Korea,” shortly after Washington and Seoul announced plans to postpone upcoming military drills in a bid to encourage stalled peace efforts.”No one could be optimistic about North Korea. North Korea has repeatedly launched more than 20 missiles this year, including new types of ballistic missiles, as well as a submarine-launched ballistic missile,” Kono said at the opening of a so-called “trilateral” meeting of the defense chiefs in Bangkok, before news media were escorted from the room.

Reporting by Phil Stewart Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.