[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Wendy Sherman, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, will visit Korea next week for the Korea-U.S. Deputy Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. Prior to this, the Korea-U.S.-Japan Deputy Foreign Ministers' Meeting will be held in Japan for the first time in four years, drawing attention to whether there will be improvements in Korea-Japan relations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 15th that Deputy Secretary Sherman will visit Korea from the 21st to the 23rd and hold the "9th Korea-U.S. Deputy Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue" with Choi Jong-geon, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the 23rd.
The Deputy Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue is being held about a year after the 8th Strategic Dialogue, which took place during former Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun's visit to Korea in July last year.
At this meeting, Vice Minister Choi and Deputy Secretary Sherman will broadly exchange views on Korea-U.S. relations, the Korean Peninsula issue, and regional and global affairs.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Deputy Secretary Sherman's visit to Korea comes amid ongoing close high-level exchanges and communication between Korea and the U.S., including summits," and added, "It will serve as an opportunity to further strengthen Korea-U.S. cooperation on Korean Peninsula, regional, and global issues."
Prior to this, Vice Minister Choi will visit Japan for two days from the 20th to the 21st to attend the 8th Korea-U.S.-Japan Deputy Foreign Ministers' Meeting scheduled to be held in Tokyo on the 21st.
At this meeting, Vice Minister Choi, Deputy Secretary Sherman, and Takeo Mori, Administrative Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, will discuss shared interests among the three countries.
The Korea-U.S.-Japan Deputy Foreign Ministers' Meeting was first established in 2015, when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken served as Deputy Secretary, to restore trilateral cooperation amid cooling Korea-Japan relations. It was held once in 2015, four times in 2016, and twice in 2017, but has not been held for the past four years.
Accordingly, attention is focused on whether the U.S. will make mediation efforts to improve the deteriorated relations between Korea and Japan at this Deputy Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Vice Minister Choi will also hold a Korea-Japan Deputy Foreign Ministers' Meeting with Administrative Vice Minister Mori during his visit to Japan.
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