In Hiroshima, Japan on the 21st, the leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan spoke in unison on strengthening deterrence against North Korea, warning that the three countries will continue to take strong joint responses in the future in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations. In particular, they agreed to advance trilateral cooperation to a ‘new level’ in areas such as countering the North Korean threat, economic security, and Indo-Pacific strategy.
On this day, US President Joe Biden announced that he would invite President Yoon Seok-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Washington, USA for a Korea-US-Japan summit. Considering that Korea-US-Japan talks are usually held during multilateral talks, the proposal of a separate Korea-US-Japan meeting in Washington, where the leaders of the three countries gather, is unusual. Analysts say that the trilateral cooperation between Korea, the US and Japan will be ‘upgraded’ to a groundbreaking level.
At the meeting, the three leaders agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation among the three countries in strengthening deterrence against North Korea and solidifying a free and open international order based on the rule of law. The two sides agreed to deepen cooperation in various fields, including trilateral security cooperation such as real-time sharing of North Korean missile warning information, strengthening trilateral cooperation on the Indo-Pacific strategy, economic security, and involvement in Pacific island countries, the Presidential Office said.
The governments of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan have been negotiating for real-time sharing of North Korean missile warning information agreed upon at the Korea-US-Japan summit in Phnom Penh last November. A government official said, “If North Korea resumes its missile provocations, (the real-time sharing system) can be applied as early as next month.” He said that he did not rule out Japan’s participation in the ‘declaration’. In the process of preparing for the “Washington Korea-US-Japan Summit”, discussions on expanding the trilateral nuclear umbrella consultative body between Korea, the US and Japan may take place while deepening security cooperation, such as a new trilateral system for sharing information on North Korean missiles.
President Yoon Seok-yeol, US President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are having a conversation at the Korea-US-Japan summit held at the Grand Prince Hotel, the venue for the G7 summit in Hiroshima on the 21st. 2023.5.21 Presidential Office websiteThe new cooperation among the three countries is expected to go beyond responding to North Korea and further expand its scope to the regional and global level to check authoritarian blocs such as China and Russia. President Biden announced that the three countries and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will invest up to $275 million (about 360 billion won) in the public and private sectors to supply small module reactors (SMRs) to Romania, which is reducing its dependence on Russian energy. announced that it would support
On this day, the heads of state of the three countries held a ‘standing meeting’ by shaking hands while standing after taking a commemorative photo on an outdoor podium. Kyodo News said, “The exchange of opinions lasted only about two minutes, including taking pictures.” Unlike last November, no separate joint statement was adopted, but the contents announced by the governments of each country commonly contained the expression ‘new level (stage)’ for trilateral cooperation. An official from the presidential office said, “The text and contents announced were coordinated in advance.”
(KTV Yoonnik YouTube channel)At the expanded G7 meeting on the subject of the rule of international law and international security, President Yoon said, “North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats are a direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions.” Society should not neglect this.” The G7 leaders also warned in a joint statement on the 20th that “North Korea’s reckless actions will surely face a swift, unified and strong international response.”
Although the Korea-US summit was not held, President Yoon sat right next to President Biden and had a conversation at the G7 summit friendship dinner that lasted about two hours on the 20th. The President’s Office explained, “(The arrangement of seats) is Japan’s consideration.” Right before the enlarged meeting was held, President Biden was seen smiling and running to greet President Yoon who entered the conference hall and greeted him warmly.
(KTV Yoonnik YouTube channel)Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.