Korea-US-Japan 'Hawaii Meeting', Prospects for Korean Peninsula Solution Uncertain

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy for North Korea, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Korea Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters, will depart for Hawaii, USA on the afternoon of the 9th to attend the trilateral South Korea-U.S.-Japan nuclear envoy meeting on the 10th.

South Korea, the U.S., and Japan are scheduled to hold the nuclear envoy meeting as well as foreign minister talks in Hawaii this week, drawing attention to trilateral cooperation measures on North Korea's nuclear and missile issues and other Korean Peninsula matters.

According to diplomatic sources on the 9th, South Korea, the U.S., and Japan will consecutively hold nuclear envoy consultations and foreign minister meetings in Honolulu, Hawaii this week to devise coordinated measures toward North Korea.

The three countries plan to hold the nuclear envoy consultations on the 10th (local time), followed by the foreign minister talks on the 12th. It will be the first time in two and a half years since the August 2019 Bangkok meeting in Thailand that the three countries' foreign ministers and nuclear envoys meet together at the same time and place.

This reflects the fact that the level of North Korea's military provocations has become so serious since the beginning of the new year that the need for a joint response at the trilateral level has increased.

In this context, the North Korean nuclear and missile issues are expected to be the top agenda items at the Hawaii meeting. Considering that the U.S. State Department has announced that nuclear envoys will also attend the ministerial talks, considerable effort is likely to be devoted to the nuclear and missile issues.

The three countries are highly likely to discuss responses to the Korean Peninsula situation, including North Korea's repeated ballistic missile provocations, threats to withdraw the moratorium on nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches.

However, subtle differences in positions among the three countries regarding North Korea measures exist, making consensus difficult. Although the Biden administration has worked to strengthen trilateral cooperation as part of restoring alliance networks since its inauguration last year, it has not achieved significant results due to conflicts such as the Korea-Japan dispute.

While the South Korean government has focused on restoring the Korean Peninsula peace process through a declaration to formally end the war, Japan has demanded "complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization" (CVID) of the Korean Peninsula, revealing differences in their North Korea policies.

South Korea places emphasis on "dialogue." At a regular briefing the previous day, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said regarding the core agenda of the talks, "Through this meeting, South Korea, the U.S., and Japan plan to hold in-depth consultations on creative and diverse engagement initiatives toward North Korea."

The U.S. also continues to emphasize the dialogue card. Ned Price, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, recently reiterated in a briefing that "diplomacy is the ultimate means."

The meeting may also include discussions on countering China. The U.S. is expected to request trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan in countering China.

A diplomatic expert said, "Since the Hawaii meeting is led by the U.S., Korean Peninsula issues such as North Korean provocations will be addressed with significant weight," adding, "Considering the differences in Korea-Japan relations and positions on North Korea, whether the three countries can reach an agreement remains uncertain."

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