Kishida to Begin Southeast Asia Tour on 11th... Trilateral Summit with South Korea and US on 13th

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will visit Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand from the 11th to the 19th to attend a series of international conferences held in Southeast Asia.

Matsuno Hirokazu, Chief Cabinet Secretary and spokesperson for the Japanese government, announced at a press conference on the morning of the 10th, "Prime Minister Kishida will attend the ASEAN-related summit meeting held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, and the APEC summit in Bangkok, Thailand."

Secretary Matsuno added, "During this visit, Prime Minister Kishida plans to hold bilateral talks with the leaders of the United States, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Brunei."

He also mentioned plans for a trilateral meeting among South Korea, the United States, and Japan, but did not specify whether a South Korea-Japan summit would take place.

President Yoon Suk-yeol said during a door-stepping session at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the morning of the same day, "There are several important bilateral meetings at the multilateral conferences," adding, "The South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit is confirmed, and several bilateral meetings have either been confirmed or are in progress."

According to Kyodo News, coordination is underway to hold a South Korea-Japan summit around the time of the South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit scheduled for the 13th in Cambodia.

Kyodo News reported, "Prime Minister Kishida will confirm cooperation for realizing a 'free and open Indo-Pacific' during the meeting with President Yoon," and "President Yoon is showing strong enthusiasm for improving Japan-South Korea relations and intends to accelerate consultations to resolve the forced labor issue (the Japanese term for laborers conscripted during Japanese colonial rule) on the occasion of the South Korea-Japan summit."

Kyodo News also added that Prime Minister Kishida is considering holding a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on the 13th and is reviewing the possibility of a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in either Indonesia or Thailand.