Japan: "Inappropriate to Hold US-Japan-South Korea Deputy Foreign Ministers' Meeting Over Dokdo Issue"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] It has been confirmed that the trilateral press conference among South Korea, the United States, and Japan, which was planned to be held jointly in the U.S., was canceled after the Japanese government raised objections to Kim Chang-ryong, Commissioner of the Korean National Police Agency, visiting Dokdo.

On the 18th, Hirokazu Matsuno, Chief Cabinet Secretary and spokesperson for the Japanese government, stated at the regular morning press briefing that holding a trilateral press conference among the foreign ministers of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan was deemed inappropriate due to the Korean police chief's visit to Dokdo.

When asked about the reason behind the cancellation of the trilateral press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno responded, "Regarding the Takeshima (竹島, the name Japan claims for Dokdo) issue, considering our country's position, it is absolutely unacceptable. While protesting to the Korean side, we judged that proceeding with the joint press conference as planned was inappropriate."

Earlier, the trilateral joint press conference scheduled to be held after the trilateral foreign vice ministers' meeting was abruptly changed to a solo press conference by Wendy Sherman, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State.

Deputy Secretary Sherman stated at the press conference that the format was changed due to disagreements between South Korea and Japan unrelated to the trilateral talks but did not provide specific reasons.

The Mainichi Shimbun cited a Japanese government official explaining that the change was a measure to avoid highlighting the confrontation between South Korea and Japan over the Dokdo issue during the Q&A session.

On the 16th, Kim Chang-ryong, Commissioner of the Korean National Police Agency, visited Dokdo and Ulleungdo by helicopter to inspect the situation on-site and encourage the Dokdo security personnel.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno had previously stated at a press conference on the day of the visit that the Japanese government strongly protested to the Korean government regarding Commissioner Kim's visit to Dokdo.

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