Breaking News: Japan, South Korea, China seek political solution to North Korea issue
Breaking News: Leaders of Japan, South Korea and China agree to work to strengthen supply chains
SEOUL – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan, South Korea and China confirmed the importance of North Korea’s denuclearization at a tripartite summit on Monday, hours after North Korea announced plans to launch a satellite-carrying rocket.
Speaking at a joint press conference with South Korean President Yun Seok-yeol and Chinese Premier Li Qiang after their talks in Seoul, Foreign Minister Kishida said stability on the Korean Peninsula is in the “common interest” of the three Asian countries.
The Japan-China-South Korea summit will be held in Seoul on May 27, 2024. (Representative photo) (Kyodo News)
On the same day, the leaders of Japan, South Korea and China held their first trilateral summit in over four years and agreed to cooperate in a wide range of areas, including people-to-people exchanges and economic cooperation.
As the regional security environment becomes increasingly severe due to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, the focus was on whether the three leaders would demonstrate a unified stance toward North Korea, which is strengthening its economic and military ties with China.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at the Japan-China-South Korea summit held in Seoul on May 27, 2024. (Representative photo) (Kyodo News)
The Japanese government said on Monday that North Korea has notified it of plans to launch a satellite-carrying rocket by June 4. The launch may use ballistic missile technology, violating United Nations Security Council resolutions.
At the start of the trilateral summit, Foreign Minister Kishida urged North Korea to cancel its planned satellite launch, with Chair Yoon saying the launch would endanger regional and global peace and stability.
Li did not address the issue, saying only that the roles of China, Japan and South Korea were to “promote the development of East Asia, strengthen cooperation, and safeguard peace and prosperity in the region and the world.”
Ri, who takes office in March 2023, called at a press conference for a “political resolution” of the North Korea issue through dialogue.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang (center) speaks at the Japan-China-South Korea summit in Seoul on May 27, 2024. (Representative photo) (Kyodo News)
North Korea is seeking to deepen ties with China, while Japan and South Korea have criticized China’s increasing military assertiveness and are stepping up security cooperation.
At the last summit, held in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu in December 2019, Japan, South Korea and China agreed to work toward the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
On the economic front, Kishida said the three leaders were keen to resume negotiations towards signing a tripartite free trade agreement, which stalled in early 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In principle, Asian countries hold tripartite summits on a rotating basis every year, but they have occasionally been canceled as relations between Japan and its two neighbours have deteriorated over historical and territorial issues.
Recently, Tokyo and Beijing have been at odds over trade after China imposed a blanket ban on imports of Japanese seafood following the release of radioactive treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that began in August 2023.
During bilateral talks on Sunday, Kishida called on Li to immediately lift the import ban, but Chinese state media said Li expressed Beijing’s concerns about the release, calling the water “nuclear pollution.”
Meanwhile, China last week conducted two days of military drills around Taiwan, which it claimed was a “severe punishment” for those seeking Taiwan independence and a “stern warning” to “external forces” against interference and provocation.
The military drills came after Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, was inaugurated last Monday. Lai has been denounced by China as a separatist and is leader of the pro-independence ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol speaks at the Japan-China-South Korea summit in Seoul on May 27, 2024. (Representative photo) (Kyodo News)
Foreign Minister Kishida said on Sunday that he had conveyed Japan’s “serious concerns” about China’s expanding military activity, and stressed that Japan considers stability in the Taiwan Strait to be “extremely important” not only for the region but also for the international community.
But China’s Foreign Ministry said Premier Li Keqiang told Kishida that Taiwan was the “core” of China’s interests and a “red line” that must not be crossed.
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