Trilateral US-Japan-Korea Meeting Cancelled Over Dokdo Dispute... A Glimpse of the 'Worst Korea-Japan Relations'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Inho Yoo and Jieun Lee] The scheduled joint press conference was canceled after South Korea and Japan clashed over the Dokdo issue during the South Korea-U.S.-Japan deputy foreign ministers' meeting.

Choi Jong-geon, First Vice Foreign Minister of South Korea, explained the background regarding the cancellation of the joint press conference at the South Korea-U.S.-Japan deputy foreign ministers' meeting during a briefing with correspondents at the South Korean Embassy in Washington DC on the 17th (local time), stating, "Japan conveyed that they could not participate in the press conference due to the visit of our National Police Agency Commissioner to Dokdo."

Regarding Commissioner Kim's visit to Dokdo on the 16th, Hirokazu Matsuno, Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, held a press conference and strongly protested, saying, "If the landing is true, it is absolutely unacceptable and extremely regrettable."

Japan raising this issue and refusing to attend the press conference at a meeting involving the United States is seen as a reflection of the worst deterioration in South Korea-Japan relations since the Moon Jae-in administration. Additionally, the United States, which has been working to consolidate alliances amid U.S.-China tensions, also lost face.

The three countries' deputy foreign ministers met for the first time in four months since July to discuss the Korean Peninsula and regional issues, but only Wendy Sherman, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, attended the scheduled joint press conference immediately afterward, with the South Korean and Japanese deputy foreign ministers absent. Deputy Secretary Sherman explained at the press conference, "The format was changed due to disagreements between South Korea and Japan unrelated to the trilateral consultation," and that 'disagreement' was precisely the Dokdo issue.

Kim Sook-hyun, Director of External Cooperation at the National Security Strategy Institute, analyzed, "The Kishida Cabinet maintains the same stance as previous governments on the forced labor issue, leading to sharply conflicting interests between South Korea and Japan. It appears that Japan raised the issue as a form of protest over the National Police Agency Commissioner's visit to Dokdo." Lee Myeon-woo, Deputy Director of the Sejong Institute, also viewed it as "Japan strongly asserting its position on historical issues and engaging in a power struggle."

While the Biden administration has been focusing on alliance cooperation, including reviving the South Korea-U.S.-Japan deputy foreign ministers' meeting after four years, this incident is seen as having tarnished those efforts. Shin Beom-chul, Director of the Center for Foreign Affairs and Security at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, pointed out, "As the host of the consultation, the United States, responsible for smoothly resolving conflicts among participants, has lost face."

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