When Was the First Korea-US Summit Call... Japan Takes a Step Ahead

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Since President Biden's inauguration, there has been growing diplomatic interest in when the first summit call between President Moon Jae-in and President Biden will take place. Japan appears to be taking the lead in both the summit call and the call between foreign ministers. There are also varied interpretations regarding the timing of the call between President Xi Jinping of China and President Biden, which occurred prior to the call with President Biden.

As of the morning of the 30th, the Blue House has not yet disclosed the schedule for the call between the two leaders. Earlier, on the 28th, Foreign Minister nominee Chung Eui-yong told reporters on his way to his office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, "To my knowledge, the summit call between the leaders of South Korea and the U.S. is expected to take place soon."

Previously, President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had a call on the 27th (local time), and with Chung’s remarks, expectations rose that the call would happen soon. However, even after two days, the schedule has not been made public. In diplomatic circles, there is analysis that South Korea is falling behind Japan on the U.S. diplomatic front due to the delay in the South Korea-U.S. summit call compared to Japan.

Professor Shin Yul of Myongji University’s Department of Foreign Policy said, "It was quite predictable that Japan would have a call with the U.S. before us," adding, "If it were otherwise, at least our government should have pretended to follow the U.S.'s Indo-Pacific strategy." Professor Shin also pointed out, "Although the government says 'there is nothing wrong,' there might be some accumulated issues between South Korea and the U.S.," and questioned, "Isn't the U.S.'s main focus in Northeast Asia shifting toward Japan?"

There are also opinions that it is excessive to worry simply because Japan got the priority in the call order. Lee Myeon-woo, Deputy Director of the Sejong Institute, said, "It is true that concerns have arisen about whether the South Korea-U.S. alliance is solid, especially regarding the March joint military exercises," but added, "It is more appropriate to focus on whether the trust between the two countries is strong rather than worrying simply about the order of meetings."

This is not the first time Japan has taken the lead. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a phone call with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi immediately after his inauguration. He also had a phone call with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha afterward, but it was evaluated that South Korea was lower in priority. Japan is supporting the U.S.'s Korea Peninsula strategy, which emphasizes multilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., Japan, and China, thereby securing a favorable position ahead of South Korea. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formed a "Task Force (TF) for Policy Communication with the U.S." and held its first meeting on the 28th to respond to issues related to policy communication.

The call with President Xi, which took place before President Biden’s call, has also sparked various interpretations. Some analyze that the call was a move by China to check the U.S., while others caution against interpreting it as a binary choice between the U.S. and China. A Blue House official dismissed such interpretations, saying, "It was a New Year's greeting call ahead of the Korean Lunar New Year and Chinese Spring Festival."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.