; (3) the United States reaffirms its commitment to Article V of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States of America and Japan, which applies to the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands; (4) the United States supports continued implementation and expansion of defense cooperation with Japan in accordance with the 2015 U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines and additional measures to strengthen this defense cooperation, including by expanding foreign military sales, establishing new cooperative technology development programs, increasing military exercises, or other actions as appropriate; (5) the United States and South Korea share deep concerns that the nuclear and ballistic missile programs of North Korea and its repeated provocations pose great threats to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and the United States recognizes that South Korea has made important commitments to the bilateral security alliance, including by hosting a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system; (6) the United States and South Korea should continue further defense cooperation, by enhancing mutual security based on the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea and investing in capabilities critical to the combined defense; (7) the United States welcomes greater security cooperation with, and among, Japan and South Korea to promote mutual interests and to address shared concerns, including the bilateral military intelligence-sharing pact between Japan and South Korea, signed on November 23, 2016, and the trilateral intelligence sharing agreement between the United States, Japan, and South Korea, signed on December 29, 2015