South Korea to hold talks with Japan, China over resumption of Trilateral Summit

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lim Soo-suk stated during a press briefing today that the agenda for the meeting will encompass discussions on the promotion of a consultative body involving all three nations and the status and direction of cooperation among their respective governments, Reuters reported. 

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The meeting will involve senior officials at the deputy ministerial level from South Korea, Japan, and China. Specifically, South Korea will be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Byung-won, Japan by Deputy Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi, and China by Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Nong Rong.

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A foreign ministry official further informed reporters that the participants will address topics related to the potential resumption of the trilateral summit, which had been suspended since 2019.

The trilateral summit involving these three neighboring countries was inaugurated in December 2008 but was halted after eight sessions in December 2019. The suspension was attributed to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and an ongoing dispute between Seoul and Tokyo concerning forced labor compensation rulings, reported KBS World.

On September 15, US President Biden welcomed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Camp David, marking the first visit by foreign leaders to the presidential retreat since 2015. During this historic meeting, the US, Japan, and South Korea forged a sturdier three-way alliance to bolster security as a response to common threats from China and North Korea.

The three leaders made several commitments during the meeting including consulting on threats to each’s security, working together on ballistic-missile defence, conducting annual joint military exercises and holding yearly summits to maintain the momentum.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Updated: 19 Sep 2023, 02:15 PM IST