Summit with US, Japan a milestone, says South Korea

Seoul — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol says this week’s summit with the leaders of the US and Japan will set a new marker in trilateral co-operation in the face of North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.

In a speech marking the anniversary of his country’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule, Yoon emphasised a need to step up security co-operation with Washington and Tokyo, through reconnaissance assets and real-time sharing of data on the North’s nuclear weapons and missiles.

The summit “will set a new milestone in trilateral co-operation contributing to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo Pacific region”, Yoon said.

Yoon is set to join US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, where they will launch a series of joint initiatives on technology, education and defence, senior US officials said.

Since taking office in May 2022, Yoon has sought to improve relations with Tokyo, frayed by a stalemate in feuds over compensation suits raised by victims of Japan’s forced labour during its colonial rule.

Japan says the issue was resolved under a 1965 treaty that normalised relations, but the strained ties have hindered US-led efforts to bolster trilateral co-operation to curb North Korea’s weapons programmes.

Yoon has taken steps to compensate the victims with South Korean money, instead of Japanese funds, and visited Tokyo in March in the first such trip by a South Korean leader in 12 years.

“Korea and Japan are now partners who share universal values and pursue common interests,” Yoon said in the speech, pledging to boost exchanges on security and economic issues.

He made no mention of security concerns related to other powers in the region including China and Russia.

Washington has formal collective defence arrangements in place with Tokyo and Seoul separately, but it wants those two countries to work closer together given growing concerns about China’s mounting power and worries about its intentions.

Meanwhile, North Korea leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged letters on Tuesday pledging to develop ties into what Kim called a “long-standing strategic relationship”, Pyongyang’s state media KCNA said.

The US has accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, including artillery shells, shoulder-fired rockets and missiles. Pyongyang and Moscow have denied any arms transactions.

Reuters