Top diplomats of South Korea, US, Japan to meet in Manila this week
Seoul, July 20
The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet in Manila this week to discuss coordination on North Korea and enhance three-way economic and security cooperation, Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday.
South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Wednesday on the sidelines of a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-related ministerial meetings in the Philippine capital, according to the ministry, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The upcoming meeting will come about two weeks after the three ministers held talks on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara on July 7.
The three sides are expected to discuss issues on North Korea, ways to enhance trilateral security cooperation and economic ties, and the Middle East crisis and other regional and global developments, according to ministry officials.
During their trilateral meeting earlier this month, the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and vowed to continue efforts to pursue dialogue with Pyongyang.
The three countries also signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) to establish a framework for cooperation on accelerating the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) in third countries, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
Cho is scheduled to make a two-day visit to the Philippines starting Tuesday to attend a series of ASEAN-related meetings -- the Korea-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting, the ASEAN Plus Three ministerial meeting involving South Korea, Japan and China, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) foreign ministers' meeting and the East Asia Summit (EAS) foreign ministers' meeting.
During the meetings, Cho is expected to reaffirm Seoul's commitment to strengthening cooperation with ASEAN and explain the Seoul government's efforts to promote peaceful coexistence and shared prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.
On the sidelines of the multilateral gatherings, Cho also plans to hold bilateral talks with his counterparts from Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, Brunei and the Philippines.
Seoul is also coordinating separate bilateral talks with the US, Japan and China on the fringes of the meetings, the officials said.
— IANS
Reader Comments
The small modular reactor deal is fascinating - India should definitely look at this tech for our energy needs. Japan and Korea are advanced in nuclear energy, we can learn from them.
North Korea denuclearisation is a pipe dream. They've been saying this for decades. Meanwhile, India should focus on our own neighbourhood - Pakistan and China are bigger concerns for us than Kim Jong Un.
As someone who follows international relations, the trilateral coordination between Seoul, Tokyo, and Washington is getting stronger. India should consider similar frameworks with like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific. 🇮🇳
Why is ASEAN always hosting these major power meetings? South China Sea issues affect India too, but our voice gets lost in these big power games. We need stronger bilateral ties with ASEAN individually.
The SMR cooperation MOC is clever - US, Japan, Korea are trying to counter China's influence in the Indo-Pacific through energy projects. India should be cautious about getting drawn into US-China rivalry though.
Good to see South Korea engaging with ASEAN so seriously. India should take notes - we need more proactive diplomacy in Southeast Asia instead of just reacting to China's moves. Act East policy needs real action, not just statements. 😤