Japanese Media: "Han-Mi-Il to Coordinate Holding Summit Meeting in Southeast Asia in Mid-Month"

On June 29, President Yoon Suk-yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attended the South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit held at the IFEMA Convention Center in Madrid, Spain. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] South Korea, the United States, and Japan have begun coordinating to hold a trilateral summit during an international conference in Southeast Asia in mid-month, Yomiuri Shimbun and Kyodo News reported on the 4th, citing Japanese government officials.

According to the reports, the three countries are coordinating to hold the summit. If held, this summit will be the first in about five months since the NATO summit held in Spain at the end of June.

Yomiuri reported that the plan is for the South Korea-U.S.-Japan leaders to hold repeated talks in a short period to share a sense of crisis and strengthen security cooperation. This is interpreted as an intention to show unity against North Korea and strengthen deterrence, as North Korea has been launching ballistic missiles at an unprecedented level daily and is expected to conduct its 7th nuclear test soon.

The leaders of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan are all scheduled to visit Cambodia, where the ASEAN-related summit will be held in mid-month, and Indonesia, where the G20 summit will take place.

In Japan, reports mentioning the possibility of a South Korea-Japan summit have recently continued. Asahi Shimbun and Kyodo News reported on the 2nd that there is a possibility of a summit between the two countries’ leaders during the international conference they are scheduled to attend this month.

On the same day, Nihon Keizai Shimbun editorial criticized North Korea’s missile launches as "a foolish policy that threatens regional safety and global stability and puts itself in trouble." It added, "Since we cannot expect the UN Security Council to intervene, South Korea and Japan need to join forces to enhance the U.S. presence on the Korean Peninsula," emphasizing that "restoring South Korea-Japan relations should be expedited."

However, Yomiuri also reported, "South Korea and Japan are seeking to hold a bilateral summit, but progress on the former forced labor issue remains absent, making the realization uncertain."

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