The top military officials of South Korea, Japanese and the United States urged North Korea on Friday to halt all unlawful activities threatening regional security as the three nations flew advanced warplanes for a joint exercise in a show of force against Pyongyang.

The much-touted axis of autocracies did little to help its only non-nuclear member, Iran, when the Islamic Republic was targeted by Israeli and American strikes last month. This was no surprise: China,

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, front right, meets with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, left, at the headquarters of the ruling Workers' Party at Pyongyang, North Korea. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP

The meeting is set to take place shortly after the U.S. resumed some shipments of defensive weapons to Kyiv following a pause that was cheered in Moscow.

Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, which brings together 10 ASEAN members and their most important diplomatic partners including Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, European nations and the U.S.