Top diplomats of S. Korea, Japan, China agree to speed up efforts needed to resume trilateral summit

한중일 외교장관 “3국 정상회의 준비 가속화“ 합의 The foreign ministers representing South Korea, Japan and China met over the weekend, in Busan as they seek to boost cooperation. They decided to speed up efforts needed to resume their leaders’ summit, which hasn’t taken place for over four years. Our foreign affairs correspondent Bae Eun-ji has the key takeaways from Sunday’s meeting. Top diplomats of South Korea, Japan, and China sat down for talks on Sunday, and agreed to expedite preparations for the upcoming summit between their leaders. “The three officials met here at the Nurimaru APEC House in Busan, and reaffirmed their efforts to hold the trilateral summit at the ’earliest convenient time.’“ Following the meeting that lasted for about an hour and a half, Seoul’s foreign minister Park Jin explained that the three officials have decided to put trilateral cooperation back on track, as soon as possible. “We will continue to work to make sure that the holding of the summit can be materialized in the near future,“ Park’s Japanese and Chinese counterparts, Yoko Kamikawa and Wang Yi also highlighted the importance of cooperation between the three countries. “China will work together with South Korea and Japan to put the trilateral cooperation back on track and maintain a sound and steady development of trilateral relations.“ “I hope today’s foreign ministers’ meeting could become the opportunity for the three countries to resume trilateral cooperation.“ The last summit between the presidents of the three countries was held in December 2019, in China. It has not taken place for more than four years, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic but also because of strained relations between Seoul and Tokyo. South Korea, as the chair of the upcoming summit, had hoped to hold the meeting before the end of this year. But the three countries have yet to agree on a specific date, and with a little more than a month remaining, arranging a meeting in 2023 is proving difficult. The Korean government is now reportedly aiming for it to take place sometime early next year. Meanwhile, ahead of the three-way talks, Park also held separate meetings with his Japanese and Chinese counterparts. While meeting the Chinese foreign minister, Park urged Beijing to play a constructive role in persuading North Korea to halt provocations. In response, Wang said China has always played and will continue to play the role needed to help stabilize the situation on the Korean Peninsula. During talks with Japan’s foreign minister, the two sides discussed issues including a recent South Korean high court ruling, that ordered the Japanese government to compensate victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery. Park reiterated Seoul’s position that it respects the agreement made in 2015 with Tokyo, which says the two countries agreed to “finally and irreversibly“ resolve the issue. But Kamikawa called the court verdict “extremely regrettable“ and urged South Korea to take appropriate measures. Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News, Busan. #ParkJin #Wang_Yi #Yoko_Kamikawa #SouthKorea #China #Japan #diplomacy #Top_diplomats #three_way_cooperation #trilateral_summit #한중일_외교장관 #3국_정상회의 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2023-11-27, 09:00 (KST)