William S. Cohen, United States Secretary of Defense, paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. The two discussed Japan-U.S. security relations and the international situation. The Prime Minister expressed thanks to Secretary Cohen for the leadership he had shown in setting the direction of post-cold-war Japan-U.S. security arrangements, including review of the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation, and said that Japan would continue to maintain and strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance in the next century for the sake of the security of Japan and the peace and security of the Asia-Pacific region. In regard to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Prime Minister affirmed the importance of three-way cooperation among Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea and said that the three countries' good cooperative relationship had encouraged action on the part of North Korea. He added that although North Korea had made separate overtures to both Japan and the United States, he believed that North Korea understood the close cooperation among Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea. Secretary Cohen agreed on the continuing importance of tripartite cooperation.