By Kim Han-joo
The U.S. ambassador to South Korea on Friday praised President Yoon Suk Yeol’s efforts to mend ties with Japan, highlighting the importance of enhanced trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo in light of burgeoning military ties between Russia and North Korea.
Ambassador Philip Goldberg made the remarks during an annual forum hosted by Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s leading newswire service, and Seoul’s unification ministry at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul. The event brought together scores of senior diplomats, officials, lawmakers, and security experts from South Korea, the United States and Japan to discuss trilateral cooperation.
“Whenever I speak about the trilateral process, I begin by recognizing the courageous, statesmanlike decision made by President Yoon to improve relations with Japan,” the ambassador said.
Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have improved since the Yoon administration decided last year to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor
without seeking contributions from the Japanese companies involved.
“The administration’s dedication to building our alliances and demonstrating determination is more important than ever given the agreements between Russia and the DPRK,” he said.
DPRK stands for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
A military pact signed between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin during their summit in Pyongyang calls for the provision of military and other assistance from one side to the other “with all means” at their disposal and “without delay” if either of the two countries is invaded or enters a state of war.
“Growing military cooperation between Russia and the DPRK is of great concern to the trilateral countries, which are committed to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” the ambassador said. “More than ever, our alliance is crucial to peace and stability.”
Goldberg emphasized that there are both “opportunities and appetite” to enhance c
ooperation beyond security and diplomacy, to critical technology areas, such as quantum computing, biotechnology, and semiconductors.
“There are other reasons why trilateral cooperation makes sense. Economic and technological competition is driving trilateral cooperation on economic security to secure supply chains,” he said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency