President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held their first meeting in Laos on Thursday and agreed to strengthen security cooperation against North Korean threats amid its growing military ties with Russia.Yoon and Ishiba met on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, just nine days after Ishiba took over as Japan's leader, amid improved relations since last year thanks in part to a close relationship between Yoon and Ishiba's predecessor, Fumio Kishida."They shared concerns about North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, as well as illegal cyber activities, emphasizing that these actions are in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions," First Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo told reporters.President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during their first summit held at a hotel in Vientiane, Laos, on Oct. 10, 2024, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. (Yonhap)President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during their first summit held at a hotel in Vientiane, Laos, on Oct. 10, 2024, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. (Yonhap)"They also shared the concerns that military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is illegal, which poses threats to Northeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region as well as global peace and stability," Kim added.The leaders agreed to further enhance trilateral security cooperation with the United States, particularly through mechanisms like the real-time missile warning data system launched in December 2023."The two leaders agreed that the responsibility for heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula should not be shifted onto South Korea, Japan or the trilateral cooperation," Kim said.North Korea has blamed the U.S. and its major Asian allies for rising tensions, threatening to use nuclear weapons if provoked.Concerns have intensified as Pyongyang contin ues to develop its weapons programs while strengthening defense ties with Russia amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.Ishiba expressed support for Yoon's unification doctrine for a unified, nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and agreed to issue a strong warning to North Korea at the East Asia Summit on Friday, a regional security forum that includes the U.S., Russia and China.They also underscored the importance of maintaining close communication, building on the positive momentum in bilateral relations since last year, in part due to the close bond Yoon shared with Ishiba's predecessor, Fumio Kishida.They agreed to promote "shuttle diplomacy" and enhance people-to-people exchanges by simplifying travel procedures ahead of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic normalization next year.President Yoon Suk Yeol (4th from R) and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (2nd from L) hold their fist summit at a hotel in Vientiane, Laos, on Oct. 10, 2024, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations s ummit. (Yonhap)President Yoon Suk Yeol (4th from R) and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (2nd from L) hold their fist summit at a hotel in Vientiane, Laos, on Oct. 10, 2024, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. (Yonhap)Bilateral ties have significantly improved after Yoon decided last year to resolve the long-running row over Japan's wartime mobilization of Koreans for forced labor by compensating victims without asking Japanese firms for contributions.Yoon and Kishida had since restored the long-suspended shuttle diplomacy of visiting each other whenever necessary and held 12 summits over the last two years.Yoon and Ishiba held their first phone conversation a day after Ishiba's inauguration last week and shared the need for bilateral cooperation as well as trilateral cooperation with the U.S. to deal with North Korean threats.Source: Yonhap News Agency
- May 13, 2026
