First Korea-China, Korea-US-Japan summit since Trump's election... With China, the three countries agreed to ‘develop cooperative relations’ and the three countries agreed to establish a ‘Korea-U.S.-Japan Secretariat.’

Photo source: Office of the President/News 1

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South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first summit in two years at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Lima, Peru, on the 15th (local time).

Unlike last year, when President Yoon and President Xi exchanged only brief greetings at the APEC summit held in San Francisco, USA, they held a separate bilateral meeting this year and discussed pending issues between the two countries, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula and economic cooperation plans.

Following the Korea-China summit, the Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral summit was also held that day. After the summit, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also adopted a joint statement strongly condemning North Korea-Russia military cooperation. In particular, this statement included the establishment of a ‘Korea-U.S.-Japan Secretariat’ to further solidify trilateral cooperation.

The Korea-China summit and the Korea-U.S.-Japan summit took place at a time when former U.S. President Donald Trump was re-elected and the North Korean military’s dispatch of troops to Russia is becoming a fact amid deepening relations between North Korea and Russia.

In his opening remarks at the Korea-China summit, President Xi Jinping first said, “Over the past two years, the international and regional situation has changed significantly, and China-ROK relations have maintained an overall momentum of development.”

He continued, “No matter how the situation changes, China and Korea must stick to the original intention of establishing diplomatic relations, maintain the direction of good neighborliness, and maintain the goal of mutual benefit and coexistence, making good use of the advantages of geographical proximity, cultural communication, and economic integration. “We do it,” he emphasized.

In addition, he said, “By deepening exchanges and cooperation and promoting the healthy and stable development of the China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership, we must bring welfare to the people of both countries and contribute more to regional peace, stability, development, and prosperity.” He said he would continue to play an Indian role together with President Yoon.

Photo source: Office of the President/News 1

Referring to the meeting in Bali two years ago, President Yoon Seok-yeol expressed this consensus by saying, “We agreed to develop Korea-China relations based on our common beliefs in multilateralism and free trade, and had fruitful conversations about cooperation between the two countries.” Based on this, he said, “I am pleased that the two countries have been actively interacting on various occasions, including the Korea-China-Japan summit in May this year.”

“China is an important country that cooperates closely in various fields, including security, economy, culture, and people-to-people exchanges,” he said. “We look forward to the two countries developing a strategic cooperative partnership based on mutual respect, mutual benefit, and common interests.” “He responded to President Xi’s remarks.

In particular, President Yoon said, “I hope that South Korea and China will continue close communication and cooperation in the face of various challenges,” amidst the upheaval of global security and economic order. “I hope that Korea and China will cooperate in promoting stability and peace in the region,” he emphasized.

Lastly, President Yoon emphasized strengthening cooperation in the economic field, which has been the central axis of the relationship between the two countries for the past 30 years, and it was reported that they agreed to accelerate follow-up negotiations for the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at the meeting.

It is also reported that President Yoon and President Xi requested to visit Korea and China, respectively. In particular, as the APEC Summit will be held in Gyeongju, Korea next fall, and China hopes to assume the presidency of the APEC Summit in 2026, a natural visit to Korea or China may occur.

Photo source: Office of the President/News 1

At the Korea-U.S.-Japan summit held about 1 year and 3 months after the Camp David meeting in August 2023, the establishment of the ‘Korea-U.S.-Japan Secretariat’ to strengthen cooperation, including security, was announced through a joint statement.

South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in a joint statement, “The new secretariat will further align our goals and actions to make the Indo-Pacific a prosperous, connected, resilient, stable and safe region.” He stated the purpose of establishment, saying, “We will ensure that this is done.”

Previously, in his opening remarks, President Yoon said that the trilateral cooperation secretariat between Korea, the United States, and Japan that will be launched in the future will “become a solid foundation that will lead to greater cooperation among the three countries.”

The leaders of Korea, the United States, and Japan strongly condemned violations of UN Security Council resolutions related to North Korea and reaffirmed their commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Furthermore, we promised to respond resolutely to all attempts to undermine the international non-proliferation system.

In addition, it expressed serious concerns about “North Korea’s illicit profit-making methods, including arms trading, malicious cyber activities, and dispatching workers overseas to finance illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.”

President Yoon said, “As can be seen from the recent deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, the severe security environment inside and outside the region is once again reminding us of the importance of trilateral cooperation between Korea, the United States, and Japan,” emphasizing that cooperation between Korea, the United States, and Japan is essential for peace and prosperity in the region. In a statement, Prime Minister Ishiba and President Biden said they “make clear their support for President Yoon’s vision for a Korean Peninsula of freedom, peace, and prosperity, and reaffirm their support for a free, peaceful, and unified Korean Peninsula.”

The issue of human rights in North Korea was also mentioned. The statement “promotes the promotion of human rights in North Korea and urges an immediate resolution of the issues of abductees, detainees, and non-repatriated South Korean military prisoners.”

With the Korea-China summit held earlier, the three countries’ positions on cross-strait relations were also included. The three countries, the United States, South Korea and Japan, “strongly oppose any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific waters and recognize the importance of opposing illegal maritime territorial claims in the South China Sea,” adding, “The basic position on Taiwan remains unchanged and cross-Strait issues are resolved.” “We call for a peaceful resolution.”

Meanwhile, the first China-Japan summit between Prime Minister Ishiba and President Xi was also held during this APEC summit, and President Yoon is also scheduled to hold his second summit with Prime Minister Ishiba. We are also pursuing a plan to hold a separate meeting with President Biden to discuss support measures for Ukraine.

It is said that a meeting between President Yoon Seok-yeol and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is highly likely to take place only after the official inauguration in January of next year.

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