Biden Invites South Korea and Japan Leaders to Washington Trilateral Summit to Discuss North Korea Nuclear Cooperation

"Discussion on New Dimensions of Trilateral Cooperation"

U.S. President Joe Biden proposed inviting South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Washington, D.C. for a trilateral summit between the United States, South Korea, and Japan.

AFP and major foreign media reported that President Biden made this proposal during the U.S.-Japan-South Korea summit held in Hiroshima, Japan, on the occasion of the Group of Seven (G7) summit on the 21st (local time), according to a briefing by a senior U.S. official.

He said the timing for the trilateral summit in Washington, D.C. would be decided soon, but no other details were disclosed.

If the trilateral summit takes place, it will be the first in six months since the meeting held on November 13 last year during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The three leaders discussed cooperation on North Korea's illegal nuclear and missile threats, economic security, and their respective Indo-Pacific strategies to elevate trilateral cooperation to a new level, the White House said.

The White House also stated that President Biden "commended President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida for their courageous efforts to improve bilateral relations."

Regarding this, President Biden said, "Thanks to your efforts, our trilateral partnership and Indo-Pacific strategy have become stronger."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is conversing with U.S. President Joe Biden at the G7 Summit friendship dinner held on the afternoon of the 20th at the Grand Prince Hotel in Hiroshima, Japan.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Before the trilateral summit, President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida held a bilateral meeting earlier that morning.

Major foreign media reported that as the two countries seek to improve relations to respond to regional security threats, the two leaders have held their third summit this year.

Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official said that the United States has not directly received any response from China regarding the G7 summit joint statement.

Earlier, the G7 leaders issued a joint statement that fully counters China.

In response, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" in a spokesperson's statement in a Q&A format with reporters the day before.