Busan: China, South Korea and Japan Highlight Regional Issues in Perspective of Tripartite Summit
This is a first since 2019. Korean, Japanese and Chinese Foreign Minister Park Jin, Yoko Kamikawa and Wang Yi met in Busan, South Korea on Saturday for a trilateral summit. The aim is to revive tripartite talks for better cooperation between the three powers.
Busan, South Korea, 26 November 2023: Regional meeting of the foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan on regional security and cooperation. via REUTERS - POOL
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They are three neighbouring countries and closely linked to each other economically and culturally, but efforts to boost trilateral cooperation have often failed for a variety of reasons, says our correspondent in Seoul, Celio Fioretti.
Between the historic disputes between Japan and Korea during the Second World War and the tensions between China and the United States, reaching an agreement can be a real headache, and that is what this diplomatic summit is all about. While South Korea reiterated its willingness to cooperate with Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa described as "extremely regrettable" the decision this week by a South Korean court asking Japan to compensate sex slaves during Japan's occupation of Korea (between 1910 and 1945). This is enough to slow down cooperation between the two countries.
Also at the heart of this meeting was the North Korean issue with the recent launch of a satellite by the regime. On this issue, Japan and Korea agree to work together to ensure the security of the region. Beijing, which is Seoul's main trading partner but also Pyongyang's main ally and economic backer, expressed concern over the situation and called on everyone to remain calm. China "has always played and will play a constructive role" in calming the situation in the region, a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
At the end of the meeting, the three ministers called for the event to be repeated as soon as possible in order to restart the dialogue interrupted since the pandemic and to hold a trilateral summit "as soon as possible", announced the South Korean foreign minister, host of the meeting.
(and with agencies)
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