Tokyo: The top diplomats of South Korea, Japan, and China are set to meet in Tokyo later this week to discuss trilateral cooperation and various other issues, as announced by Seoul's foreign ministry on Tuesday. The meeting aims to assess the progress of their collaborative efforts and explore future developments in regional and international matters.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul of South Korea will join Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for this crucial gathering scheduled for Saturday. Cho is expected to depart for Japan on Friday to participate in these discussions.
The ministry highlighted that the ministers will evaluate the advancements achieved since the last trilateral summit held in May of the previous year. They will also deliberate on the smooth coordination for the upcoming leaders' summit, which Japan is set to host later this year. The agenda is anticipated to cover enhancing cooperation in the areas of economy, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, along with issues concerning the Korean Peninsula.
In addition to the trilateral dialogue, Cho plans to engage in separate bilateral talks with both Iwaya and Wang. These discussions are deemed significant as South Korea prepares to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, slated for late October to early November. Meanwhile, China is preparing to host the APEC summit for the following year.
Cho's meeting with Iwaya is expected to focus on the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Japan in June this year, in addition to other bilateral matters. The discussions with Wang are likely to include topics related to the APEC summit and further cooperation between South Korea and China.