First meeting in four years: South Korean, Japanese and Chinese officials on reviving cooperation

The heads of diplomacy of South Korea, Japan and China met today to discuss holding a trilateral leaders' summit after a four-year break and strengthening cooperation between the three countries, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Closely linked economically and culturally, Japan, China and South Korea together account for about 25 percent of global gross domestic product.

However, as the AP reports, efforts to strengthen trilateral cooperation have often encountered obstacles due to issues involving historical disputes, including strategic competition between China and the United States of America (US).

At the meeting in the South Korean city of Busan, the foreign ministers of the three countries were supposed to exchange opinions on preparations for the resumption of the trilateral summit, ways to improve cooperation and other regional and international issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea announced.

In September, senior officials from the three countries agreed to restart the trilateral summit "as soon as possible".

Since they held their first trilateral summit in 2008, the leaders of the three countries were supposed to meet every year. However, the summit has not been held since 2019.

Relations between South Korea, Japan and China are burdened with complex, sensitive issues, the AP agency reports.

South Korea and Japan are key military allies of the US, hosting a total of 80.000 US troops. Their recent push to boost trilateral security cooperation with the US has angered China, which is extremely sensitive to moves it sees as aimed at curbing its ambitions to be a dominant factor in Asia.

But some observers say the fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden struck a conciliatory tone in their first face-to-face meeting in a year earlier this month would provide Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing with diplomatic room to maneuver to find a way to revive trilateral cooperation.

"Since international society is at a historic turning point, as it faces great challenges and changes, we hope to discuss the strategic importance of cooperation between Japan, China and South Korea," Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa told reporters on November 24.

Japanese officials said Sunday's meeting of foreign ministers will discuss the recent launch of a North Korean spy satellite and the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as the continuation of the trilateral summit. Officials said no joint statement was expected after the meeting.

After a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday, November 25, Kamikawa said she renewed Japan's demand that China lift its ban on seafood imports from Japan in response to Tokyo's release of purified radioactive wastewater from the tsunami-hit Fukushin nuclear power plant.

Wang, for his part, said China opposes Japan's "irresponsible action" on the wastewater discharge and called for an independent mechanism to monitor the process, China's foreign ministry said.

Relations between South Korea and Japan have seriously deteriorated in recent years due to problems stemming from the Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula in 1910-1945.

However, relations have warmed in recent months after the two countries took a number of steps to overcome historical disputes and improve bilateral cooperation in the face of North Korea's nuclear threats.

North Korea's nuclear activities and frequent missile launches pose a major security threat to South Korea and Japan.

Beijing, meanwhile, as one of Pyongyang's main allies, faces accusations that it is avoiding the full application of United Nations sanctions against North Korea and is secretly sending aid to help its impoverished neighbor survive and continue to serve as a bulwark against US influence on the Korean peninsula. .